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.

SAMHSA Resources

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) - The use of medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a “whole-patient” approach to the treatment of substance use disorders.

Medications, Counseling, and Related Conditions - Medications approved to treat Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders relieve the withdrawal symptoms and psychological cravings that cause chemical imbalances in the body. Medications used for treatment are evidence-based treatment options

Opioid Overdose - Learn the warning signs of opioid overdose and how naloxone and medications for OUD treatment can help treat and prevent it.

Know the Risk of Using Drugs - All drug use comes with risk. Know the facts before letting drugs take their toll on you and your family.

Tips for Teens: The Truth About Opioids - 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.

Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit -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.

Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment in Emergency Departments - 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 -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 - 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.

TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder - 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 - 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.

Other Federal Resources

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.

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.

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.

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.

Opioids | HHS - Increased prescription of opioid medications like oxycodone and hydrocodone led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non- prescription opioids. Prevention, treatment, and recovery information is available here to help health professionals and families combat the epidemic.

Opioids | NIDA - Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, and many others.

Drug Overdose | CDC - Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) supports jurisdictions in collecting high quality, comprehensive, and timely data on nonfatal and fatal overdoses and in using those data to inform prevention and response efforts.

Rx Awareness | CDC - Prescription opioids can be addictive and dangerous. CDC’s Rx Awareness campaign tells the stories of people whose lives were impacted by prescription opioids.