TY - JOUR
T1 - Family carers and the prevention of heroin overdose deaths
T2 - Unmet training need and overlooked intervention opportunity of resuscitation training and supply of naloxone
AU - Strang, John
AU - Manning, Victoria
AU - Mayet, Soraya
AU - Titherington, Emily
AU - Offor, Liz
AU - Semmler, Claudia
AU - Williams, Anna
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - Aim: To assess (a) carers' experiences of witnessing overdose; (b) their training needs; and (c) their interest in receiving training in overdose management. Design: Postal questionnaire distributed through consenting participating local carer group co-ordinators in England. Sample: 147 carers attending local support groups for friends and families of drug users. Findings: Carers were usually parents (80%); 89% were currently caring for a heroin user of whom 49% had already had an overdose (93% involving opiates). One third had witnessed heroin being used, and 31 had witnessed an overdose. For eight carers, there had already been a death from drug overdose. There was poor knowledge of how to manage an overdose. Only a quarter had received advice on overdose management (26%) and only one third knew of the opiate antagonist naloxone (33%). The majority (88%) wanted training in overdose management, especially in emergency naloxone administration (88%). Interest in training did not differ according to carer type nor previous overdose experience. Conclusion: We found evidence of an extensively overlooked carer population, many of whom have already been faced with an overdose situation and yet have received minimal training. We also found high levels of interest in receiving overdose training, in particular, in emergency naloxone administration.
AB - Aim: To assess (a) carers' experiences of witnessing overdose; (b) their training needs; and (c) their interest in receiving training in overdose management. Design: Postal questionnaire distributed through consenting participating local carer group co-ordinators in England. Sample: 147 carers attending local support groups for friends and families of drug users. Findings: Carers were usually parents (80%); 89% were currently caring for a heroin user of whom 49% had already had an overdose (93% involving opiates). One third had witnessed heroin being used, and 31 had witnessed an overdose. For eight carers, there had already been a death from drug overdose. There was poor knowledge of how to manage an overdose. Only a quarter had received advice on overdose management (26%) and only one third knew of the opiate antagonist naloxone (33%). The majority (88%) wanted training in overdose management, especially in emergency naloxone administration (88%). Interest in training did not differ according to carer type nor previous overdose experience. Conclusion: We found evidence of an extensively overlooked carer population, many of whom have already been faced with an overdose situation and yet have received minimal training. We also found high levels of interest in receiving overdose training, in particular, in emergency naloxone administration.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=41549106698&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09687630701731205
DO - 10.1080/09687630701731205
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:41549106698
VL - 15
SP - 211
EP - 218
JO - Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
JF - Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
SN - 0968-7637
IS - 2
ER -