Public Health · Literature

Research papers on The opioid epidemic

Recent and highly-cited academic work on the opioid epidemic, gathered from Semantic Scholar, CrossRef and OpenAlex.

1. Rationale for cannabis-based interventions in the opioid overdose crisis

   Philippe Lucas · 2017 · Harm Reduction Journal · 79 citations

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2. Drug use, homelessness and health: responding to the opioid overdose crisis with housing and harm reduction services

   Katrina Milaney, Jenna Passi, Lisa Zaretsky, et al. · 2021 · Harm Reduction Journal · 48 citations

   Abstract Background Canada is in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis and Alberta has one of the highest opioid use rates across the country. Populations made vulnerable through structural inequities who also use opioids, such as those who are unstably housed, are at an increased risk of experiencing harms associated with opioid use. The main purpose of this study was to explore if there was an association between unstable housing and hospital use for people who use opioids. Methods Analysis utilized self-reported data from the Alberta Health and Drug Use

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3. Opioid overdose crises during the COVID-19 pandemic: implication of health disparities

   Ishika Patel, Lauren A. Walter, Li Li · 2021 · Harm Reduction Journal · 45 citations

   Abstract Background Recent data suggest a disproportionate impact of opioid overdoses on Black Americans. The study aims to describe emergency department (ED) visits at a Southern, urban ED pertaining to opioid overdose and associated health disparities. Methods Patients presenting to the ED at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital with opioid overdoses from January 1 to October 31, 2019, and from January 1 to October 31, 2020, were identified from electronic medical records. Results

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4. “They make it too hard and too many hoops to jump”: system and organizational barriers to drug treatment during epidemic rates of opioid overdose

   Julia Dickson-Gomez, Sarah Krechel, Jessica Ohlrich, et al. · 2024 · Harm Reduction Journal · 12 citations

   Abstract Introduction The United States is currently facing an opioid overdose crisis. Research suggests that multiple interventions are needed to reduce overdose deaths including increasing access and retention to medications to treat opioid use disorders (MOUD, i.e., methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone) and increasing the distribution and use of naloxone, a medication that can reverse the respiratory depression that occurs during opioid overdoses. However, barriers to MOUD initiation and retention persist and discontinuations of MOUD carry a heightened risk of overdose. Many times, MOUD is not sought as a first line of treatment by people with opioid us

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5. One opioid user saving another: the first study of an opioid overdose-reversal and naloxone distribution program addressing hard-to-reach drug scenes in Denmark

   Birgitte Thylstrup, Morten Hesse, Marian Jørgensen, et al. · 2019 · Harm Reduction Journal · 10 citations

   Abstract Background Overdose education and naloxone distribution programs decrease opioid overdose deaths. However, no studies of such programs have been carried out in Denmark. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and the effect of a broader “training-the-trainers” model in low-threshold settings after participation in the “Danish Save Lives” [SL] program. Methods Between May 2013 and November 2015, 552 participants from four municipalities took part in the SL program. The program is built on the train-the-trainers model where a central trainer trains others (trainers), who in turn train others (

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6. The opioid epidemic and accessibility to free Wi-Fi: internet access is a human rights issue

   Ehsan Jozaghi · 2024 · Harm Reduction Journal · 5 citations

   AbstractThe opioid epidemic has taken the lives of thousands of people across North America and Europe. Moreover, lack of housing, inflation, and a rapidly changing economy have affected millions of people, and many have become homeless. Many governments, researchers, health agencies, and not-for-profits have offered innovative ways to tackle this crisis, including many harm-reduction technologies that rely on Internet. In the age of the first artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, where reliance and accessibility to Internet have become a necessity for finding jobs, housing, affordable food, social services, social connection, and staying alive, the creation of free Wi-Fi zones around inn

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7. Editorial: Opioid overdose and harm reduction approaches to combat the looming crisis

   Sasidhar Gunturu, Sanobar Jaka · 2023 · Frontiers in Psychiatry · 5 citations

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8. Attitude changes following short-form opioid overdose video education: a pilot study

   Mika V. Galiher, Miranda Huffman · 2022 · Harm Reduction Journal · 4 citations

   Abstract Background Opioid overdose response training (OORT) and the need for its rapid expansion have become more significant as the opioid epidemic continues to be a health crisis in the USA. Limitation of funding and stigmatization often hinders expansion of OORT programs. Primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been widespread transition from in-person to virtual communication. However, OORT programs may benefit from long-term use of this modality of education if it can be as effective. Objective To measure the change in participant attitude after a brief, virtual OORT.

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9. Use of low-threshold naloxone boxes for opioid overdose prevention in a Midwestern US State: a public health program evaluation

   Pamela S. Lynch, Lou Gamalski, Virginia Roys, et al. · 2025 · Harm Reduction Journal · 1 citations

   Abstract Introduction Despite reductions in overdose deaths reported nationally in 2025, overdose remains a leading cause of death in Michigan and the broader United States. Naloxone is a safe and highly effective opioid antagonist that can reverse opioid overdose, and community-based distribution to people at highest risk of overdose is a key overdose death prevention strategy. Methods In 2021, Harm Reduction Michigan (HRMI) launched an innovative naloxone box model to boost community-based naloxone distribution through publicly accessible, unlocked, outdo

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10. Scoping evidence review on the prevention and treatment of opioid overdose

    Abhishek Ghosh, Shinjini Choudhury, Tathagata Mahintamani, et al. · 2026 · Harm Reduction Journal

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11. Correction to: Hostility, compassion and role reversal in West Virginia’s long opioid overdose emergency

    Jeff Ondocsin, Sarah G. Mars, Mary Howe, et al. · 2021 · Harm Reduction Journal

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