GREENVILLE, S.C. — A new peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Cureus, finds that a single, brief educational session on how to use naloxone significantly increases confidence and willingness among individuals to intervene during an opioid overdose.
Researchers conducted the study with 100 adults utilizing services from Challenges, Inc., a mobile harm reduction unit based in Greenville, South Carolina. Participants were surveyed before and after being offered a standardized naloxone training, with 72 opting in for the education. The training included recognizing signs of overdose, proper administration of intranasal and intramuscular naloxone, and hands-on practice with trainer devices.
Before the intervention, only 54% of participants had received prior education on naloxone, despite 75% having witnessed at least one overdose and 57% having administered naloxone before. After the brief session, participants’ confidence in using naloxone rose significantly, from an average confidence rating of 4.15 to 4.83 on a five-point scale.
“Even though many had previously witnessed overdoses, a significant number had never intervened with naloxone,” the authors wrote. “Education and access are essential to bridging this gap.”
The study also addressed the “bystander effect,” a psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help in emergencies when others are present. Post-training, 96% of participants said they would administer naloxone if they witnessed an overdose.
You can learn how to administer naloxone here.
The findings highlight disparities in prior naloxone training by age and gender. Only 11% of participants aged 55 and older had previously received naloxone education, compared to 71% of those aged 25–34. Women were more likely than men to have received prior training.
Barriers to naloxone use—including stigma, cost, and lack of knowledge—were underscored in the study’s discussion. Researchers emphasized the importance of scaling up harm reduction education in high-risk populations, particularly among people who use opioids, who are more likely to witness overdoses.
The study concludes that “naloxone training instills confidence and willingness to act” and suggests that broader implementation of low-barrier, community-based naloxone education could play a critical role in reducing opioid-related mortality.
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