Hartford Hospital
While there is a lifesaving medication called naloxone that can reverse the deadly effects of opioid overdose, patients often fail to fill the prescription at the pharmacy when it is prescribed. This is particularly concerning and true in those at the highest risk of death-those who end up in the emergency department for opioid overdose. The goal of this study is to compare the impact of different overdose education on naloxone prescription fill rates in opioid users being discharged from our hospital emergency department. You will receive either (a) written education about naloxone through their MyChart account, or (b) a concise one-page handout and 4-minute video clip reviewed with the participant and a support individual (family/friend) prior to discharge.
Opioid Overdose
Enhanced Overdose Education (EOE)
Standard education
Not Applicable
The rates of opioid overdose and overdose deaths in Connecticut have increased dramatically in the past decade. While there is a lifesaving medication called naloxone that can reverse the deadly effects of opioid overdose, patients often fail to fill the prescription at the pharmacy when it is prescribed. This is particularly concerning and true in those at the highest risk of death-those who end up in the emergency department for opioid overdose. Indeed, a recent national study by the University of Michigan found that from 2001 to 2016 less than 1% of patients filled their prescription for naloxone following ED discharge. To address this problem, The investigators propose a prospective randomized clinical trial comparing an experimental education intervention that may improve prescription fill rate against the current standard of care at the Hartford Hospital ED (HH-ED). Our primary aim is to provide preliminary data on the impact of an enhanced overdose education (EOE) delivered at the HH-ED, on intranasal naloxone rescue kit prescription fill rates in opioid users. The investigators hypothesize that compared to those who receive standard education (written instructions, current standard of care), opioid users who receive EOE while being discharged from the emergency department will be more likely to fill the prescription for an intranasal naloxone rescue kit within one month of hospital discharge. Our secondary aim is to obtain preliminary data on the impact of EOE, delivered at the HH-ED, on naloxone rescue kit knowledge. The investigators hypothesize that compared to the current standard education, opioid users and their support network, who receive EOE while being discharged from the emergency department, will retain more educational content about naloxone rescue kits at one-month post ED visit. In exploratory fashion, the investigators will also qualitatively examine reasons the kit was or was not filled. The long-term, overarching goal of this line of research is to reduce mortality in opioid users, starting with increasing the likelihood that rescue kit prescriptions will be filled.}}
Study Type : | Interventional |
Estimated Enrollment : | 84 participants |
Masking : | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose : | Health Services Research |
Official Title : | Improving Availability of Intranasal Naloxone Rescue for Opioid Overdose |
Actual Study Start Date : | March 1, 2024 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | August 31, 2025 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | December 31, 2025 |
Arm | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Active Comparator: Standard education Written instructions and information communicated to the patient through MyChart. The following four key points are covered: (1) When someone overdoses on opiates, their breathing will get very slow and may stop (2) Naloxone is a safe life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose (3) You give someone naloxone by injecting it through the nostril, (4) If a first dose of naloxone does not work after about 3 minutes, give a second dose. |
Behavioral: Standard education |
Experimental: Enhanced Overdose Education (EOE) A one-page education pamphlet handed to participants and their identified support individual and a 4-minute video clip that will be viewed in the hospital and emailed or texted to both. EOE is purposefully brief and intended to increase uptake by participants and their support network who may not be motivated or willing to engage in face-to-face or extensive education. The pamphlet and video both emphasize the Why and How. That is, the significance of naloxone in decreasing the likelihood of death following an overdose while providing simple instructions on how to use the nasal kit. They also emphasize an important point missing in standard education: to tell others in the support network where it is and how to use it. |
Behavioral: Enhanced Overdose Education (EOE) |
Ages Eligible for Study: | 21 Years to 65 Years |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Want to participate in this study, select a site at your convenience, send yourself email to get contact details and prescreening steps.
Not yet recruiting
Hartford Hospital Emergency Department
Hartford, Connecticut, United States, 06106
Not yet recruiting
Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center
Hartford, Connecticut, United States, 06106