Press release: September 12, 2023

SAMHSA, in collaboration with RTI International, has released two important resources intended to aid community practitioners in the ongoing work to end the overdose crisis. “Engaging Community Coalitions to Decrease Opioid Overdose Deaths” and "Opioid-Overdose Reduction Continuum of Care Approach (ORCCA)” are available for free online. These products will equip public health practitioners, coalitions, nonprofits, and other groups working to prevent opioid-related death in their local communities with knowledge and best practices. 
 

• The “Engaging Community Coalitions to Decrease Opioid Overdose Deaths” provides guidance on building and maintaining community coalitions that focus on the opioid crisis, as well as approaches for assessing how well coalitions are functioning.  
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• The “ORCCA Practice Guide” includes evidence-based strategies for reducing opioid overdose deaths. The strategies include: opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution, medication for treatment of opioid use disorder, and safer opioid prescribing and disposal.

 
SAMHSA commissioned RTI International to develop the guides in collaboration with a technical expert panel. The guides are based on insights and tools from the ongoing National Institutes of Health (NIH) HEALing Communities Study.  
 
The HEALing Communities Study was launched in 2019 by the NIH and SAMHSA. The multi-site implementation research study is designed to test the impact of an integrated set of evidence-based practices across healthcare, behavioral health, justice, and other community-based settings. The study aims to prevent and treat opioid use disorder and reduce opioid-related overdose deaths in 67 communities across four states: Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio.