The implementation of a naloxone rescue program in university students

Responding to the nationwide opioid overdose epidemic, Washington State University initiated a naloxone safety net project intending to increase awareness of opioid overdose, increase the availability of naloxone, and examine university students' perceptions regarding the usefulness of a novel, large-group audience-training model.

A Washington State University campus.

In September 2014, university students were recruited to attended a large-group audience training event which included opioid overdose prevention, recognition, and first response. All trained participants received an intranasal naloxone reversal kit.

Student pharmacists, who previously received naloxone rescue training and overdose education from the pharmacist lead researcher, acted as trainers. The training consisted of a large-group audience delivery with small-group practice sessions facilitated by the student pharmacists.

Participants who attended the recruitment event completed a pre-training survey to assess knowledge and perceptions about opioid use disorder and overdose. The following week, participants attended the training event. Participants were asked to complete a post-training survey to evaluate the usefulness of the program.

Forty-three percent of the participants (65/150) who attended the recruitment event reported knowing someone who used prescription opioids to get "high." Seventy-four participants attended the training, and 92% of them (68/74) completed the post-training survey. The majority of respondents agreed that the training program met their expectations and the skills they learned could be used to intervene in an overdose situation.

Before training, survey responses from recruited participates indicated the need to discuss opioid use disorder among university students is important. Use of a training model involving large-group audiences followed by small-group practice sessions offers an acceptable educational solution regarding opioid overdose and prevention. Our experience suggests using this training model to educate university students to recognize and provide first response is a feasible and acceptable approach.