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.
Hooten et al. (Wed,) studied this question.