Naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses, could save lives in rural areas that face a disproportionately high number of opioid-related deaths. Yet many rural communities struggle with limited access to naloxone due to a lack of adequate training for healthcare professionals.
Delesha Carpenter, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., received a $594,082 R34 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse to create a module that would properly help pharmacists discuss the sensitive topics of overdose and naloxone with patients and their family and friends. This type of training is particularly important because community pharmacists are oftentimes the most accessible health professionals in rural areas. Legal initiatives have also given pharmacists the ability to sell naloxone to anyone who might need it.
Carpenter said existing online resources on naloxone do not adequately prepare community pharmacists to feel comfortable discussing the medication. Her previous research has shown that pharmacists’ comfort levels impact how often they dispense naloxone. The general stigma around substance use and overdose contributes to this discomfort, she said. She has also found that even if pharmacies have naloxone available, pharmacists may choose not to offer it to patients.
“This is an opportunity to make something that could really improve pharmacists’ confidence to have these conversations,” she said.
The project currently has a two-year timeline. The first step will be to gather data on the barriers community pharmacists face in having conversations about naloxone. This information will then be used to develop an online module that is meant to help pharmacists feel comfortable discussing naloxone. The module will also be developed through interviews with rural pharmacists, caregivers and patients.
The project’s next phase would involve a randomized pilot trial in 30 pharmacies to see if the module increased how often pharmacists dispensed naloxone, as well as their willingness to offer it to patients and family members. The goal would then be to apply the findings to a larger trial.