Evidence-Based Resources About Opioid Overdose

SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Practice Resource Center (EBPRC) contains a wide variety of downloadable resources available from SAMHSA and other federal partners about opioid overdose and other substance use and mental health topics to help communities, clinicians, policy-makers and others with the information and tools to incorporate evidence-based practices into their communities or clinical settings.

Fact Sheet:

Using Naloxone to Reverse Opioid Overdose in the Workplace: Information for Employers and Workers | CDC (PDF | 785 KB) - This fact sheet helps employers understand the risk of opioid overdose and provides guidance about establishing a workplace naloxone program.

Tips for Teens: The Truth About Opioids | SAMHSA - This fact sheet for teens provides facts about opioids. It describes short- and long-term effects and lists signs of opioid use. The fact sheet helps to dispel common myths about opioids. Access sources cited in this fact sheet.

Toolkits:

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder in Jails and Prisons: A Planning and Implementation Toolkit | National Council of Behavioral Health - Developed by the National Council of Behavioral Health, this guide provides correctional administrators and healthcare providers tools for implementing MAT in correctional settings.

Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit | SAMHSA -This toolkit offers strategies to health care providers, communities, and local governments for developing practices and policies to help prevent opioid-related overdoses and deaths. Access reports for community members, prescribers, patients and families, and those recovering from opioid overdose.

Evidence Reviews/Guidebooks:

Evidence-Based Strategies for Preventing Opioid Overdose: What’s Working in the United States | CDC (PDF |  11.5 MB) - This CDC document reviews evidence-based strategies to reduce overdose. It explains why these strategies work, the research behind them, and examples of organizations that have put these strategies into practice.

Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment in Emergency Departments | SAMHSA - This guide examines emerging and best practices for initiating medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in emergency departments.

Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Criminal Justice Settings | SAMHSA -This guide focuses on using medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder in jails and prisons and during the reentry process when justice-involved persons return to the community.

Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders | SAMHSA - This guide reviews ways that telehealth modalities can be used to provide treatment for serious mental illness and substance use disorders including opioid overdose among adults.

Treatment Improvement Protocols/Manuals:

TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder | SAMHSA - This Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) reviews the use of the three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications used to treat OUD—methadone, naltrexone, and buprenorphine.

Advisory: Opioid Therapy in Patients With Chronic Noncancer Pain Who Are in Recovery From Substance Use Disorders | SAMHSA - This advisory addresses screening and assessment tools, nonpharmacologic and nonopioid treatment for chronic pain, and the role of opioid therapy in people with chronic noncancer pain and SUDs.

Overdose Prevention & Naloxone Manual | HRC - This Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) manual outlines the process of developing an Overdose Prevention and Education Program that may involve a take-home naloxone component.

Websites:

SAMHSA

Other federal websites

Visit the EBPRC for additional information, including Treatment Improvement Protocols, toolkits, resource guides, clinical practice guidelines, and other science-based resources.

Last Updated: 08/01/2022