Name
Fentanyl and the Overdose Epidemic: The NYC Public Health Response
Date & Time
Tuesday, April 3, 2018, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Denise Paone Nisha Beharie Alexandra Harocopos
Description
Moderator: Grant T. Baldwin, PhD, MPH, Director, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board

CE Certified By: AMA,AAFP,ACPE,ANCC,APA,GA Bar,GA POST,NAADAC,NASW,NBCC

The rate of unintentional drug overdose death in New York City (NYC) increased for the sixth consecutive year, from 8.2 per 100,000 residents in 2010 to 19.9 per 100,000 residents in 2016, constituting a 143% increase. In 2016, there were 1,374 unintentional drug overdose deaths in NYC compared with 937 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2015, an increase of 437. Similar to other jurisdictions, fentanyl is driving the increase in overdose deaths. In response, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has implemented timely and innovative actions. To better assess the presence of fentanyl in the NYC illicit drug market, a research team collected 358 used syringes from 11 syringe exchange programs throughout NYC that were laboratory tested for heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and other substances. In another study, in-depth interviews are ongoing with people who use drugs (PWUD) to assess: 1) knowledge of fentanyl; 2) how participants learned about fentanyl; 3) perceptions of risk related to fentanyl; and 4) adoption of drug use behavior changes (e.g., risk reduction practices) in response to awareness of the presence of non-pharmaceutical fentanyl in the NYC.

In this session, presenters will: 1) provide an overview of 2016 overdose mortality data in NYC; 2) present results from the syringe testing study to assess the presence of fentanyl in NYC; and 3) share findings from interviews conducted with PWUD around fentanyl knowledge and behavior adaptation.

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE, PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Describe mortality surveillance methods using death certificates and toxicology to enumerate fentanyl-involvement in overdose deaths.
- Discuss syringe testing study findings and describe immediate and ongoing responses to observed increases in overdose deaths in New York City.
- Identify how people who use drugs learn about and adapt to the increased presence of fentanyl in the drug market, including suggestions for harm reduction messaging.