Impact of Opioid-Related Emergencies on First Responders

随着阿片类药物相关过量继续增加，慢性疼痛患者无法获得阿片类药物，急救人员可能会越来越多地被要求帮助有阿片类药物使用障碍和/或慢性疼痛的人。例如，一篇报纸文章报道，一名男子在一个下午服用了四次过量药物，需要急救人员提供五剂纳洛酮。在一项在线调查中，一些受访者认为慢性疼痛患者的止痛药用完了，这是打电话叫救护车的原因。然而，关于急救人员对阿片类药物相关紧急情况做出反应的研究惊人地少之又少。 该项目将与哥伦布消防局合作，通过电话对俄亥俄州哥伦布市有意愿的急救人员进行定性访谈，以更好地了解他们在高危社区处理与阿片类药物有关的紧急情况的经验。这一发现可能有助于了解如何在急救人员层面上管理阿片类药物使用障碍和慢性疼痛的公共卫生战略。此外，我们可能会获得关于如何装备急救员以更有效地处理这些高风险电话及其后果的见解。

As opioid-related overdoses continue to mount and chronic pain patients lose access to opioid medications, first responders may increasingly be called to assist people with opioid use disorders and/or chronic pain. For instance, a newspaper article reported that a man overdosed four times in one afternoon and needed five doses of naloxone from first responders. In an online survey, some respondents considered a chronic pain patient running out of pain medication a reason to call an ambulance. Yet, there is strikingly little research on what it is like for first responders to respond to opioid-related emergencies. In collaboration with the Columbus Division of Fire, this project will conduct qualitative interviews by phone with willing first responders in Columbus Ohio, to better understand their experiences handling opioid-related emergencies in high-risk communities. Findings may help contextualize how public health strategies for opioid use disorders and chronic pain are managed at the first responder level. Additionally, we may gain insights about how to equip first responders to handle these high-stakes calls and their aftermath more effectively.