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Naloxone Distribution and Overdose Prevention

Xylazine Test Strips Distributed

Current Value

1,385#

FY 2024

Definition

Xylazine test strips are an overdose prevention tool which alerts to the presence of xylazine in a sample.  This measure includes the number of xylazine test strips distributed to people who are at risk of experiencing an overdose.

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Story Behind the Curve

From 2000-2022, more than 36,000 North Carolinians lost their lives to drug overdose. Randolph County families have been greatly impacted by the opioid epidemic plaguing the United States. Fatalities among residents have risen drastically since 2014.

People with the following characteristics are at greatest risk of experiencing an overdose:

  • History of overdose
  • History of substance use disorder
  • Taking benzodiazepines with opioids
  • At risk for returning to a high dose to which they are no longer tolerant (e.g., recently released from jail/prison, patients leaving detoxification facilities)
  • Taking higher dosages of opioids (more than 50 morphine milligram equivalents/day)

Factors contributing to the rise in fatal overdoses include fear and stigma which prevents people with substance use orders from seeking evidence-based care. The presence of fentanyl and xylazine identified in numerous samples of drugs tested from Randolph County by the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab indicates a greater risk of overdose if using. Additionally, people who use drugs may be unaware of local overdose prevention programs that provide tools to reduce risk.

Partners

Health care providers, behavioral health providers, community based organizations, faith-based organizations, human service providers

What Works

Effective strategies to reduce the risk of overdose deaths include:

  • Provide overdose prevention education (e.g., never use alone, go slow)
  • Provide overdose prevention tools to identify presence of fentanyl or xylazine in drug supply (e.g., fentanyl test strips, xylazine test strips)
  • Offering drug testing in partnership with UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab

Action Plan

There is no data to be collected at this time. As part of action plans, community partners intend to report this data for FY2023-24.

Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.

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