Overdose data to action - the delaware state division of public health office of health crisis response (ohcr) is applying to OD2A-s to support US to sustain and expand our state's surveillance and…

Overdose data to action - the delaware state division of public health office of health crisis response (ohcr) is applying to OD2A-s to support US to sustain and expand our state's surveillance and prevention activities related to the opioid overdose epidemic. Our approach is inclusive of the optional and competitive strategies 4 (biosurveillance) and 5 (data linkages), which are necessary to furthering our capacity to understand the opioid epidemic using data and implement targeted prevention initiatives that will mitigate the impact of substance use disorders in our communities. Delaware has consistently been high ranking in the country for overdose death rates for the past five years. From 2018 to 2021, delaware ranked in the top five states nationally for highest rate of opioid deaths (CDC, 2022). In calendar year 2022, delaware division of forensic science reported 537 unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths in delaware, the vast majority of which involved an opioid (91%). In response, ohcr will leverage OD2A-s to improve upon our existing surveillance capacity and prevention efforts in order to combat the growing drug epidemic. This includes expanding linkages between data elements we collect, emphasizing health equity in our approach to data analysis and overdose prevention activities, continuing to build our infrastructure to use data to inform and tailor prevention strategies, and prioritizing the implementation of culturally relevant interventions and equitable delivery of services across all of our initiatives. We will leverage our extensive existing surveillance infrastructure, including the state's prescription drug monitoring program (pdmp) and our toxicology screening processes, to meet CDC's reporting requirements. We will disseminate data collected as part of our surveillance efforts to key stakeholders through my healthy community, delaware's environmental public health tracking network, as well as through presentations at multidisciplinary stakeholder meetings, like the overdose system of care and addiction action committee. In addition, delaware will continue working closely with a myriad of community partners to reduce the overall overdose burden the state is experiencing. As referenced above, we are applying for the required strategies related to surveillance (1-3) and prevention (6-9), along with the two optional and competitive strategies 4 (biosurveillance) and 5 (data linkages). As a result of these proposed initiatives, we will accomplish the following short term outcomes: - increased our ability to collect and analyze more timely, detailed, comprehensive, and actionable surveillance data, including toxicology testing for both nonfatal and fatal overdose cases - expanded our data dissemination and sharing efforts - improved identification of factors contributing to overdose using linked data sets - increased clinician awareness of evidence-based practices for pain management and confidence to provide equitable OUD and stud care - increased collaboration, coordination, and communication among partners, leveraging and building upon the overdose system of care and addiction action committee infrastructure - increased awareness of the drug overdose epidemic, harm reduction efforts, and evidence-based approaches, based on our education and stigma reduction activities - increased use of navigators to link pwud to care and services, in close partnership with dsamh - increased access to harm reduction education and services, including increased distribution of naloxone through our community-based engagement strategies - increased availability of and decreased barriers to care/services, especially for those disproportionately affected by overdose and those previously underserved