Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Kentucky continues to be plagued by the drug overdose epidemic. In 2021, Kentucky had age-adjusted
drug overdose mortality rate of 53.6 deaths per 100,000 residents, 3rd highest state in the United
States. (CDC NCHS, 2023). Since 2018, Kentucky the age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rate has
increased 81%. (Steel & Mirzaian, 2022). The drug overdose mortality burden is high in Kentucky as is
drug overdose morbidity. In 2021, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdoses treated in Kentucky
emergency department (ED) was 308.2/100,000 residents – 8 percent increase since 2018. Rates of ED
visits for any reason with a co-occurring substance use disorder diagnosis has increased nearly 5% from
1002.1 in 2018 to 1049.1/100,000 in 2019. (KIPRC, 2022). The burden of overdose is felt
disproportionately. Black Kentuckians have higher age-adjusted mortality (58.5/100,000) and morbidity
(359.2/100,000) than white Kentuckians (mortality (53.5/100,000) and morbidity (324/100,000)). Nine
of the 10 counties with the highest age-adjusted mortality rates are rural counties, and 9 of 10 counties
with the highest age-adjusted morbidity rates are also rural. To reduce these rates, there must be
multipronged approaches implemented: 1) identification and monitoring of substance use disorders
(SUD) and drug overdoses through comprehensive surveillance; and 2) enhancing development,
implementation, and evaluation of evidence-informed, evidence-based, and promising prevention
program and policy strategies.
The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), as a bona fide agent for the Kentucky
Department of Public Health, will collaborate with state, university, and community partners to
implement surveillance and prevention strategies. Surveillance strategies include enhancing the
surveillance infrastructure; the timely analysis of drug overdose ED encounters and fatal drug overdoses
using multiple data sources; bio surveillance of drug involvement in non-fatal overdoses; and data
linkages to criminal justice data at the individual level; harm reduction data temporally to overdose
data, and optional strategies of biosurveillance and data linkage. KIPRC’s prevention strategies include
educating clinicians on best pain management practices using CDC prescribing guidelines; training
clinicians on OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) and Stimulant Use Disorder (StUD) patient standards of care;
supporting ED linkage to care with navigators; expanding Prescription Drug Monitoring Program data
sharing; developing public health (PH)/public safety (PS) partnerships; improving PH/PS data sharing;
developing PH/PS OUD and StUD trainings; using harm reduction (HR) navigators to connect people to
services; developing a statewide harm reduction services resource list; hosting annual in-person HR
services training; using recovery navigators to link vulnerable individuals to available SUD treatment
with FindHelpNowKentuckY (FHNKY) and recovery housing with
FindRecoveryhousingNowKentukckY(FRHNKY); developing a recovery monitoring system; developing a
recovery resident management system; and developing a comprehensive resources section within
FRHNKY.
KIPRC hopes to reduce overdose mortality and morbidity, improve the standard of care and linkage to
care for individuals with SUD, and increase access to recovery support through prevention efforts guided
by enhanced surveillance.
Status | Active |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 9/1/23 → 8/31/28 |
Funding
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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Projects
- 1 Active
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Overdose Data to Action: Surveillance Strategy 1
Quesinberry, D. (PI), Akpunonu, P. (CoI), Baum, R. (CoI), Brown, S. (CoI), Martin, J. (CoI), Seals, J. (CoI), Slade, E. (CoI), Bunn, T. (CoPI) & Yu, M. (Former CoI)
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
9/1/23 → 8/31/28
Project: Research project