Opioid Misuse and Addiction Prevention
About Opioids in Alaska
The national opioid epidemic grew rapidly into this decade’s defining public health crisis. According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths in 2017 increased by almost 10 percent from 2016 – claiming the lives of more than 70,000 Americans. Nearly 48,000 of those were opioid overdose deaths, with the sharpest increase occurring among deaths related to illicitly made fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids). The U.S. rate of opioid-related deaths increased more than four-fold between 1999 and 2016.
Learn more about the impact of opioids in Alaska at the Opioids and Heroin in the Last Frontier page.
Opioid Misuse and Addiction Prevention Program
OSMAP's opioid prevention program oversees and coordinates a variety of efforts that support Alaska's response to the opioid epidemic.
The program oversaw the development of the Statewide Opioid Action Plan in 2018, and supports the implementation of the plan. This plan was developed using a community-based approach that included the participation of over 14 jurisdictions through community café events and 100 subject matter experts from across the state. The plan strives to align state efforts and provides strategies for addressing the epidemic in an efficient way.
Every year, the Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention submits a report to the legislature outlining the State of Alaska’s opioid response efforts:
Activities
OSMAP receives funding then works to issue it across a variety of State agencies and community organizations to support the opioid response. Projects thus far include:
- Development of an Addiction Medicine Fellowship
- Scale up of DEA DATA-Waivered Providers
- Training public safety officers to teach Mental Health First Aid
- Training to reduce fatigue training for law enforcement and first responders
- Infrastructure support for opioid testing
- Infrastructure support for medical examinations
- Education efforts supported by OSMAP's education program
Data
A brief overview of impacts to Alaska
OSMAP supports the development of Alaska's data dashboard and data reports that reflect the impacts of opioids in Alaska. Review a comprehensive list of Alaska opioids data at the Opioids and Heroin in the Last Frontier's data page. Examples of current activities:
