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Annual substance use conference examines psychiatric and opioid use disorders
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) hosted the sixth annual conference in May at the the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub at Penn State University Park. Drawing over 150 attendees throughout the day,…
Mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy may improve chronic low back pain
HERSHEY, Pa. — The list of treatments for low back pain is endless, but few offer relief for the one in four Americans who suffer from this persistent pain and leading cause of disability globally. More than 80% of those with chronic low back pain wished there were better treatment options. Yet,…
Community coalitions key to combating the opioid crisis
Collaborative, community-driven initiatives can help mitigate the impact of opioid misuse and overdose deaths, according to a research team that includes Brandy Henry, assistant professor of rehabilitation and human services and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member at Penn…
Grants support research collaboration between Harrisburg, College of Medicine
Four teams of faculty from Penn State Harrisburg and Penn State College of Medicine, including SSRI cofunded faculty member Sujeong Park, have been awarded the inaugural planning and seed grants from the Penn State Inter-Campus Health and Medicine Research Program, a partnership created to support…
Harm reduction education, tools access may help women prevent opioid overdose
Woman with opioid use disorder and who are also involved with the criminal legal system face unique challenges and stigmas that may keep them from seeking substance use treatment and harm reduction tools that could prevent overdose deaths, according to new research led by a team from Penn State.…
Women may face unique obstacles while seeking treatment for opioid use
Women experiencing opioid-use disorders may face unique challenges accessing treatment, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The study — published in the journal Women’s Health — provides new insight into how pregnancy and parenting can make getting medications for…
Fentanyl and COVID-19 pandemic reshaped racial profile of overdose deaths in US
For as long as statistics about opioid overdose deaths have been collected in the United States, white individuals have been much more likely to die than Black individuals of the same age. With the rapidly increasing rate of fentanyl overdoses in the late 2010s, that trend began to…
PSU researcher shares preliminary findings on how counties are spending opioid settlement funds
A Penn State professor is sharing preliminary findings from the Elevate Pennsylvania Initiative. It’s meant to maximize the impact of opioid settlement funds in the state. Pennsylvania is getting about $2 billion as part of nationwide settlements involving the opioid epidemic.…
'Growing Impact' podcast examines effects of flooding on substance use, support
The latest episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast explores the world of substance use and addiction through the lens of environmental disasters. Social Science Research Institute cofund Kristina Brant and her team are investigating how flooding in rural areas can affect drug…
Race- and gender-specific interventions may lower drug overdose death rates
Interventions to address stimulant and opioid use that consider race and gender may prove more effective at preventing overdose deaths than current methods, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers who studied how drug treatment admissions and overdose deaths differed among race and gender…
Increases in opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania varied by county during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. It originally appeared in The Conversation and was written by Brian King, Andrea Rishworth, Louisa M. Holmes, and Ruchi Patel The big idea The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the opioid epidemic, according to our new…News Topics: OpioidsSubstance Use
Personal connections matter to families taking care of kin during opioid crisis
For family members unexpectedly taking care of a relative’s child during the opioid crisis, it can be difficult to navigate the legal waters of assuming custody. The process may be easier — and come with more support — if these caregivers have personal connections to local resource institutions,…
Penn State leads multi-state project to help prevent opioid misuse
Opioid use disorder continues to wreak havoc across the United States. Opioids were involved in more than 68,000 overdose deaths in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Penn State recently received a $1.3 million, two-year grant from the Substance Use and Mental…News Topics: Substance UseOpioids
Sterner honored by Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for work on opioid crisis, human trafficking
Glenn Sterner, a Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member through the Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction and assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, received the 2022 Rural Health Hero of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health…
Sterner contributes to article about opioid settlement funds reaching rural communities
Glenn Sterner , a Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member and assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, contributed to an article on CNN and KHN about how opioid settlement funds are often shortchanged by rural communities. The article mentions that…Ensuring fair distribution of the $1 billion+ opioid settlement in Pennsylvania
To ensure fair and impartial distribution of the $1.07 billion that was awarded to Pennsylvania as part of 2021’s massive settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors, a team of interdisciplinary researchers from Penn State worked with counties across the commonwealth to develop the…
Holmes interviewed on WTAJ
SSRI cofund Louisa Holmes was recently interviewed on WTAJ about how her research on lack of naloxone is linked to increased overdose deaths in smaller Pennsylvania communities. Policymakers may wish to consider using opioid settlement funds to expand access to naloxone in communities, says Holmes.
Substance use disorder summit jumpstarts the discourse on stigma reduction
The Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction’s (CSUA) hosted the first annual Substance Use Disorder Stigma Reduction Summit recently at the HUB-Robeson Center in University Park. Organized by the Substance Use Stigma Reduction Collaborative, the event brought in researchers, practitioners and…
Lack of naloxone led to increased overdose deaths in rural Pa., study finds
Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of opioid overdose in the nation, and, according to Penn State researchers, one’s chances of surviving that overdose can depend on where the person lives. Using data from the Pennsylvania Overdose Information Network from the years 2018-20 and American…
Stigma work by researchers showcased at Shatterproof’s Addiction Stigma Summit
Two faculty members at Penn State Berks, Jennifer Murphy, associate professor and chair of the criminal justice department, and Brenda Russell, professor of psychology, had their stigma work with students showcased at Shatterproof’s Stigma of Addiction Summit earlier this summer. Shatterproof is a…
Prevention is our best — and most underrated — weapon against opioids
By Diana Fishbein for The Hill The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented “syndemic” — multiple simultaneous crises — that has ravaged communities across the nation. COVID-19 took the country by storm, causing more than 1 million deaths, economic devastation and unimaginable…News Topics: Substance AbuseOpioids
How stigma acts as a barrier to overcoming the opioid crisis
The United States is in the midst of a significant, decades-long opioid epidemic, with more than 2.6 million Americans meeting the criteria for opioid use disorder (OUD). Opioid-related overdoses have also been on the rise, along with stigma related to OUD and is one of the biggest barriers to…News Topics: OpioidsSubstance Use
Penn State team leads effort to prevent youth substance misuse in PA
A team of Penn State experts from Evidence-based Implementation and Intervention Support (EPIS) is leading the five-year Opioid Misuse Prevention Project (OMPP) to support community-based partnerships throughout Pennsylvania to help prevent substance misuse and promote healthy development…
Examining the opioid epidemic through the lens of crime data
The opioid overdose epidemic in the United States remains a critically important public health issue that continues to worsen as time goes on. The estimated death toll in 2021 has reached the historical high of 100,000 overdose deaths from all drugs…