Catching Up with the HEALing Communities Study

Plenty of news and research has come from the HEALing Communities Study this summer. Scientists and community members have been sharing their important findings through podcasts, videos, and scholarly publications.

SIG Associate Director Timothy Hunt moderated a panel discussion about building community partnerships for opioid overdose prevention, embedded above, that included presentations from the Opioid Response as County Law Enforcement Under the Ulster County Sheriff's Office and Rabiah Gaynor from the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Support. The discussion included community organizers, representatives of the criminal legal system, and academic voices.

Healing Cayuga Project Director Monika Salvage and Dr. Hunt both appeared on the ASTHO Public Health Review webcast. 

Dr. Hunt discussed the HEALing Community Study and the potential solutions to the opioid crisis that HCS researchers are investigating. 

Salvage discussed how support from NIDA and Columbia University helped reduce overdose deaths in Cayuga County, NY, where fatalities from opioid overdoses have fallen dramatically from their high point.

Timothy Hunt shared his insights and expertise with Addiction Policy Forum through an Ask the Expert video where he discusses the importance of addressing the social determinants of health, which is critical in removing barriers and meeting the needs of people with substance use disorders.

Notable HCS papers this year include:

Community-led approaches to making naloxone available in public settings: Implementation experiences in the HEALing communities study

Reducing perceived barriers to scaling up overdose education and naloxone distribution and medications for opioid use disorder in the United States in the HEALing (Helping End Addiction Long-Term®) communities study