Perceptions of opioid and other illicit drug exposure reported among first responders in the southeast, 2017 to 2018

Robin A. Thompson; Wayne T. Sanderson; Susan Westneat; Terry Bunn; Antionette Lavender; Andrew Tran; Caroline Holsinger; Dwight Flammia; Lei Zhang; Ying He

doi:10.1002/hsr2.335

Perceptions of opioid and other illicit drug exposure reported among first responders in the southeast, 2017 to 2018

Robin A. Thompson, Wayne T. Sanderson, Susan Westneat, Terry Bunn, Antionette Lavender, Andrew Tran, Caroline Holsinger, Dwight Flammia, Lei Zhang, Ying He

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Opioid use has risen dramatically in recent years, and its illegal use puts first responders at risk when intervening in overdoses. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl with a potency 50 to 100 times greater than morphine, pose a great risk and accidental exposure via ingestion, inhalation, mucosal, or percutaneous routes, can potentially lead to fatal outcomes. Anecdotal media accounts in early 2017 of accidental occupational opioid exposure among first responders generated a national concern. Methods: To identify first responders' recollections, beliefs, and concerns about possible occupational exposure to opioids and other drugs, researchers in Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia administered an emailed, anonymous convenience sample survey. Results: A total of 5955 surveys were analyzed with 15% of respondents reporting they believed they had been exposed to opioids, and of those, less than 1% reported experiencing health effects from perceived exposure. Over half (51%) of respondents reported being “very or somewhat concerned” about developing health effects from exposure to opioids. Half of respondents reported being unaware of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines for preventing occupational-related opioid exposures. Conclusions: Only a small fraction of first responders believed they had experienced symptoms related to opioid exposure in overdose response calls, but half were concerned about potential exposures and half were unaware of the educational guidance on prevention available. The high level of concern regarding potential exposure warrants the need for the development and or enhancement of targeted educational training interventions and further dissemination of pre-existing training interventions to ensure first responders have the knowledge and understanding of occupational opioid exposures and minimize stress associated with the potential rare exposures.

Original language	English
Article number	e335
Journal	Health Science Reports
Volume	4
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.335
State	Published - Sep 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Through the Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC), an Education Research Center funded by CDC's NIOSH, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia was provided pilot grant funds to assess occupational opioid exposure among first responders. The survey included four areas related to responders: (1) demographic information, (2) occupation‐related information, (3) perceived exposure and health effects, and (4) opioid exposure prevention training. The survey questions were developed by the Kentucky group, pilot tested with a group of first responders and a group of subject matter experts, and then revised with feedback prior to study launch. Institutional review board (IRB) approval was received by designated IRB entities in the four states prior to survey launch.

Funding Information:
This publication or project was supported by CARERC through Grant 6T42OH010278. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services. A special thanks to Dr. Curt Pendergrass and James House of The Kentucky Department for Public Health and Drew Chandler of The Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

Funding Information:
This publication or project was supported by CARERC through Grant 6T42OH010278. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Keywords

emergency medical services
emergency responders
fentanyl
firefighters
law enforcement officers
occupational health
opioid epidemic
opioids surveillance
prehospital emergency care

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Medicine (all)

Access to Document

10.1002/hsr2.335

Cite this

@article{9c9720bb31b2459fbf33818907948037,

title = "Perceptions of opioid and other illicit drug exposure reported among first responders in the southeast, 2017 to 2018",

abstract = "Background: Opioid use has risen dramatically in recent years, and its illegal use puts first responders at risk when intervening in overdoses. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl with a potency 50 to 100 times greater than morphine, pose a great risk and accidental exposure via ingestion, inhalation, mucosal, or percutaneous routes, can potentially lead to fatal outcomes. Anecdotal media accounts in early 2017 of accidental occupational opioid exposure among first responders generated a national concern. Methods: To identify first responders' recollections, beliefs, and concerns about possible occupational exposure to opioids and other drugs, researchers in Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia administered an emailed, anonymous convenience sample survey. Results: A total of 5955 surveys were analyzed with 15% of respondents reporting they believed they had been exposed to opioids, and of those, less than 1% reported experiencing health effects from perceived exposure. Over half (51%) of respondents reported being “very or somewhat concerned” about developing health effects from exposure to opioids. Half of respondents reported being unaware of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines for preventing occupational-related opioid exposures. Conclusions: Only a small fraction of first responders believed they had experienced symptoms related to opioid exposure in overdose response calls, but half were concerned about potential exposures and half were unaware of the educational guidance on prevention available. The high level of concern regarding potential exposure warrants the need for the development and or enhancement of targeted educational training interventions and further dissemination of pre-existing training interventions to ensure first responders have the knowledge and understanding of occupational opioid exposures and minimize stress associated with the potential rare exposures.",

keywords = "emergency medical services, emergency responders, fentanyl, firefighters, law enforcement officers, occupational health, opioid epidemic, opioids surveillance, prehospital emergency care",

author = "Thompson, {Robin A.} and Sanderson, {Wayne T.} and Susan Westneat and Terry Bunn and Antionette Lavender and Andrew Tran and Caroline Holsinger and Dwight Flammia and Lei Zhang and Ying He",

note = "Funding Information: Through the Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC), an Education Research Center funded by CDC's NIOSH, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia was provided pilot grant funds to assess occupational opioid exposure among first responders. The survey included four areas related to responders: (1) demographic information, (2) occupation‐related information, (3) perceived exposure and health effects, and (4) opioid exposure prevention training. The survey questions were developed by the Kentucky group, pilot tested with a group of first responders and a group of subject matter experts, and then revised with feedback prior to study launch. Institutional review board (IRB) approval was received by designated IRB entities in the four states prior to survey launch. Funding Information: This publication or project was supported by CARERC through Grant 6T42OH010278. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services. A special thanks to Dr. Curt Pendergrass and James House of The Kentucky Department for Public Health and Drew Chandler of The Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Funding Information: This publication or project was supported by CARERC through Grant 6T42OH010278. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.",

year = "2021",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1002/hsr2.335",

language = "English",

volume = "4",

journal = "Health Science Reports",

issn = "2398-8835",

publisher = "John Wiley & Sons Inc.",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Perceptions of opioid and other illicit drug exposure reported among first responders in the southeast, 2017 to 2018

AU - Thompson, Robin A.

AU - Sanderson, Wayne T.

AU - Westneat, Susan

AU - Bunn, Terry

AU - Lavender, Antionette

AU - Tran, Andrew

AU - Holsinger, Caroline

AU - Flammia, Dwight

AU - Zhang, Lei

AU - He, Ying

N1 - Funding Information: Through the Central Appalachian Regional Education Research Center (CARERC), an Education Research Center funded by CDC's NIOSH, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia was provided pilot grant funds to assess occupational opioid exposure among first responders. The survey included four areas related to responders: (1) demographic information, (2) occupation‐related information, (3) perceived exposure and health effects, and (4) opioid exposure prevention training. The survey questions were developed by the Kentucky group, pilot tested with a group of first responders and a group of subject matter experts, and then revised with feedback prior to study launch. Institutional review board (IRB) approval was received by designated IRB entities in the four states prior to survey launch. Funding Information: This publication or project was supported by CARERC through Grant 6T42OH010278. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services. A special thanks to Dr. Curt Pendergrass and James House of The Kentucky Department for Public Health and Drew Chandler of The Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Funding Information: This publication or project was supported by CARERC through Grant 6T42OH010278. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH/CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

N2 - Background: Opioid use has risen dramatically in recent years, and its illegal use puts first responders at risk when intervening in overdoses. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl with a potency 50 to 100 times greater than morphine, pose a great risk and accidental exposure via ingestion, inhalation, mucosal, or percutaneous routes, can potentially lead to fatal outcomes. Anecdotal media accounts in early 2017 of accidental occupational opioid exposure among first responders generated a national concern. Methods: To identify first responders' recollections, beliefs, and concerns about possible occupational exposure to opioids and other drugs, researchers in Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia administered an emailed, anonymous convenience sample survey. Results: A total of 5955 surveys were analyzed with 15% of respondents reporting they believed they had been exposed to opioids, and of those, less than 1% reported experiencing health effects from perceived exposure. Over half (51%) of respondents reported being “very or somewhat concerned” about developing health effects from exposure to opioids. Half of respondents reported being unaware of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines for preventing occupational-related opioid exposures. Conclusions: Only a small fraction of first responders believed they had experienced symptoms related to opioid exposure in overdose response calls, but half were concerned about potential exposures and half were unaware of the educational guidance on prevention available. The high level of concern regarding potential exposure warrants the need for the development and or enhancement of targeted educational training interventions and further dissemination of pre-existing training interventions to ensure first responders have the knowledge and understanding of occupational opioid exposures and minimize stress associated with the potential rare exposures.

AB - Background: Opioid use has risen dramatically in recent years, and its illegal use puts first responders at risk when intervening in overdoses. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl with a potency 50 to 100 times greater than morphine, pose a great risk and accidental exposure via ingestion, inhalation, mucosal, or percutaneous routes, can potentially lead to fatal outcomes. Anecdotal media accounts in early 2017 of accidental occupational opioid exposure among first responders generated a national concern. Methods: To identify first responders' recollections, beliefs, and concerns about possible occupational exposure to opioids and other drugs, researchers in Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, and Georgia administered an emailed, anonymous convenience sample survey. Results: A total of 5955 surveys were analyzed with 15% of respondents reporting they believed they had been exposed to opioids, and of those, less than 1% reported experiencing health effects from perceived exposure. Over half (51%) of respondents reported being “very or somewhat concerned” about developing health effects from exposure to opioids. Half of respondents reported being unaware of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines for preventing occupational-related opioid exposures. Conclusions: Only a small fraction of first responders believed they had experienced symptoms related to opioid exposure in overdose response calls, but half were concerned about potential exposures and half were unaware of the educational guidance on prevention available. The high level of concern regarding potential exposure warrants the need for the development and or enhancement of targeted educational training interventions and further dissemination of pre-existing training interventions to ensure first responders have the knowledge and understanding of occupational opioid exposures and minimize stress associated with the potential rare exposures.

KW - emergency medical services

KW - emergency responders

KW - fentanyl

KW - firefighters

KW - law enforcement officers

KW - occupational health

KW - opioid epidemic

KW - opioids surveillance

KW - prehospital emergency care

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115867313&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85115867313&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/hsr2.335

DO - 10.1002/hsr2.335

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85115867313

SN - 2398-8835

VL - 4

JO - Health Science Reports

JF - Health Science Reports

IS - 3

M1 - e335

ER -

Perceptions of opioid and other illicit drug exposure reported among first responders in the southeast, 2017 to 2018

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this