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Background <p>Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted community members well-positioned to address the opioid epidemic from the frontlines through education, stigma reduction, and connection to culturally competent care, yet do not regularly receive training in this area.</p> Methods <p>This study evaluated changes in CHW knowledge and attitudes toward opioid use before and after a standardized Opioid Overdose Prevention and Response (OOPR) training. CHWs (N = 78) 18&#xa0;years of age or older who were employed, volunteering, or in CHW training in Arizona between January and February 2024 participated in a 60-min evidence-based OOPR training, completing online surveys pre- and post-training. Elements of training and assessment mirrored the Opioid Overdose Awareness and Reversal training (OOART) by Bascou and colleagues (2022). Paired Sample T-Tests assessed changes related to (1) opioid overdose knowledge, (2) self-confidence in using naloxone and handling overdose situations, (3) Narcan-related risk compensation beliefs, (4) attitudes towards naloxone usage and overdose reversal, and (5) attitudes toward individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).</p> Results <p>Participants were predominantly female (72.8%), with nearly half identifying as Hispanic/Latinx/Spanish (46.2%). The mean age was 37.69 (SD 13.4) years; 96.2% were employed full-time, with 60.2% reporting at least six or more years of CHW experience. Overall, training improved knowledge and confidence response, with 74.6% feeling capable of using naloxone effectively post-training.</p> Conclusion <p>Overall, this intervention increased participants’ perceived knowledge of overdose response, though some gaps persisted, including inaccuracies in key areas of factual knowledge. Individual feedback and/or booster training may further enhance both the accuracy and retention of knowledge in this population.</p>

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Changes in community health worker knowledge and perspectives following opioid overdose prevention and response training

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月13日

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  • Madeline Hooten,
  • Mindy L. McEntee

摘要

Background

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted community members well-positioned to address the opioid epidemic from the frontlines through education, stigma reduction, and connection to culturally competent care, yet do not regularly receive training in this area.

Methods

This study evaluated changes in CHW knowledge and attitudes toward opioid use before and after a standardized Opioid Overdose Prevention and Response (OOPR) training. CHWs (N = 78) 18 years of age or older who were employed, volunteering, or in CHW training in Arizona between January and February 2024 participated in a 60-min evidence-based OOPR training, completing online surveys pre- and post-training. Elements of training and assessment mirrored the Opioid Overdose Awareness and Reversal training (OOART) by Bascou and colleagues (2022). Paired Sample T-Tests assessed changes related to (1) opioid overdose knowledge, (2) self-confidence in using naloxone and handling overdose situations, (3) Narcan-related risk compensation beliefs, (4) attitudes towards naloxone usage and overdose reversal, and (5) attitudes toward individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

Results

Participants were predominantly female (72.8%), with nearly half identifying as Hispanic/Latinx/Spanish (46.2%). The mean age was 37.69 (SD 13.4) years; 96.2% were employed full-time, with 60.2% reporting at least six or more years of CHW experience. Overall, training improved knowledge and confidence response, with 74.6% feeling capable of using naloxone effectively post-training.

Conclusion

Overall, this intervention increased participants’ perceived knowledge of overdose response, though some gaps persisted, including inaccuracies in key areas of factual knowledge. Individual feedback and/or booster training may further enhance both the accuracy and retention of knowledge in this population.