New Guide to Help Address National Opioid Epidemic

By Lynn Eades October 3, 2016

In response to the national opioid addiction crisis, the Health Sciences Library has created an Opioid Dependence Resource Guide for clinicians. The guide, which launched in early September but will be regularly updated, features research, clinical guidelines, continuing education courses, and other resources related to opioid addiction.

“This opioid dependence guide will be a useful resource for clinicians across North Carolina,” said Dr. Warren Newton, Director of the North Carolina AHEC Program and Vice Dean for the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Our goal is to get together all available evidence based information and provide a resource for clinicians about opiate misuse and dependence.”

The guide was created by Public Health and Outreach Librarian Brenda Linares and AHEC Digital Library Director Mary Beth Schell. The resources it contains are carefully selected and reflect the latest scientific information related to opioid addiction. In addition, the resources are all freely available so anyone interested in learning more about the topic will have access to the information.

In 2014 more than 28,000 people died from opioid overdose, with at least half of those deaths involving prescription opioids. Since 1999 deaths from prescription opioids have quadrupled. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the health and social costs related to prescription opioid abuse are about $55 billion per year.

The Opioid Dependence Guide is just the latest example of the Health Science Library’s (HSL) responding to a public health crisis. Earlier in 2016 HSL librarians created a guide dealing with the Zika virus, and in 2014 librarians partnered with Carolina faculty and clinicians to help prepare the campus for a potential Ebola outbreak.
Linares, Swogger, and White at Zika Information Fair_0.JPG

The HSL’s Zika guide features information on how to protect against Zika, a map of the virus’ outbreak, and the latest clinical resources related to Zika. Former Collections Development Librarian Susan Swogger and Global Public Health Librarian Mary White created the guide in response to the outbreak of the virus, and had presented the guide at the May 2016 Medical Library Association annual meeting.

Swogger, White, and Outreach Librarian Brenda Linares shared the guide and other resources at a campus-wide information fair on June 30, 2016, joining representatives from UNC Global, the UNC School of Medicine, the Department of Environment Health and Safety, and the Campus Travel Clinic.

Following the first cases of Ebola in the United States, a response team was formed in Carolina’s School of Nursing that included Nursing Liaison Librarian Elizabeth Moreton. The team developed simulation exercises to respond to Ebola on campus, organized a town hall meeting to educate the campus community, and prepared a resource guide to share Ebola-related resources with health care staff, faculty, and interested students.

The guide focused on evidence-based resources for the clinical environment in North Carolina, rather than international or consumer-focused information. Because Ebola information was constantly evolving, the team collaborated on the guide to ensure that the resources, news, and factual information were consistently updated.

Last modified: 01/11/17