Prince William Health District issues findings of Opioid Needs Assessment

The Prince William Health District (PWHD) has issued results of a 10-month community-based needs assessment to evaluate factors that contribute to opioid-use disorder (OUD). This assessment identifies gaps in services and informs future development of targeted interventions and strategies to address the opioid crisis effectively.

In the Greater Prince William Region, there were 454 OUD deaths from 2018 to 2023. Nonfatal opioid-related overdoses have more than doubled since 2017. Overdoses are increasing among the 20-24 age group, adolescent females, and Black and Latino adults.

From the listening sessions, the Prince William Health District learned that the top three needs are to:

• Address stigma at all levels as it inhibits access to care, communication with potential resources, and services received.

• Establish peer recovery specialist services to bolster knowledge of and access to current systems.

• Recognize the need for a multifaceted, cross-systems approach to address commonly co-occurring disorders with the connection between OUD and mental health hurdles.

PWHD will be engaging communities on specific opioid prevention using an action plan in Year 2 and 3 of the grant. This action plan is based on gap(s) identified in the needs assessment and includes the following action items:

• Build Understanding: Educate the public about opioids and their impact to help everyone see addiction as a health issue, not a moral one.

• Help Everyone Get Help: Explore how to ensure everyone has equitable access to care, no matter who they are or where they live.

• Improve Communication: Find ways to improve cross-sector communication to break down barriers that make it harder for people to get the help they need.

• Work Together: Train across different systems to work better together and refer people more effectively• Keep Checking In: Monitor the data to see what’s working, what’s not, and find new ways to help as the issues shift.

If you have any questions regarding opioid use in our community or would like to discuss partnerships to strengthen our response to the addiction crisis, please contact Hope, Community Engagement Specialist at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).