Presenter(s): Erin Winstanley, PhD
Target Audience: This activity is designed for interprofessional teams, family/patients, nurses, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and students/educators. There is no CE credit designated for this learning activity.
Webinar Description: Overdose deaths have increased in urban and rural counties; however, rural communities continue to be disproportionately impacted. Approximately half of rural counties do not have a provider waivered to prescribe buprenorphine and there is extremely limited access to harm reduction services in rural communities. This webinar will explore why rural areas have been severely impacted by the overdose epidemic and discuss unique challenges, as well as opportunities to make demonstrable improvements to engaging rural patients with opioid use disorder.
Educational Objectives:
- Define rurality and the impact of the overdose epidemic on rural communities
- Describe how the social determinants of health in rural areas increases the risk of drug use and overdose death
- Identify barriers to delivering evidence-based prevention and treatment services for individuals with opioid use disorder in rural areas
- Discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated overdose deaths & created new opportunities for service delivery in rural areas
Support for the Program:
Funding for this initiative was made possible (in part) by grant no. 1H79TI081968 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.