Community Forums to Address the Opioid Crisis: An Effective Grassroots Approach to Rural Community Engagement

Overview

Journal Subst Abuse

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2019 Feb 26

PMID 30799927

Citations 7

Authors

Laura Palombi

Michelle Olivarez

Laura Bennett

Amanda N Hawthorne

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: With opioid overdose deaths on the rise in rural Minnesota and across the nation, the call for community-based grassroots efforts is stronger than ever. Recognizing that substance use prevention and recovery programming rely upon community resources, collaborative teams planned and implemented a series of nine community forums focused on opioid and heroin use across rural northeast Minnesota to educate and unite invested community members on the critical public health issue. This article examines the outcomes of the forums and the ingredients of a successful forum.

Methods: Surveys were distributed at seven rural community forums to assess measures of growth in knowledge and awareness, as well as demographic characteristics of respondents.

Findings: Forums planned by university faculty and community members were effective in increasing overall awareness and knowledge of the opioid crisis within each community. Forums that were rated more highly by attendees included speakers from varied professional backgrounds and integrated cultural strengths. Communities that planned forums together have reported increased collaboration to prevent and address substance use and increased community member engagement on local grassroots coalitions since the time of the forum.

Conclusions: Community forums have functioned as an effective grassroots approach to engaging rural community members in opioid use prevention and intervention efforts.

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A Scoping Review of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Barriers and Telehealth for African Americans with Disabilities in Rural Communities.

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Addressing the Spectrum of Opioid Misuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery in Rural Washington State Communities: Provider Identified Barriers and Needs.

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Community Forums to Address Vaccine Hesitancy: A Useful Tool for Meeting the Needs of Diverse Communities.

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Exploring Roles of Stakeholders in Combating Substance Abuse in the DIMAMO Surveillance Site, South Africa.

Muthelo L, Mbombi M, Mphekgwana P, Mabila L, Dhau I, Tlouyamma J Subst Abuse. 2023; 17:11782218221147498.

PMID: 36875745 PMC: 9974617. DOI: 10.1177/11782218221147498.

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