One of the most enduring public health crises in Virginia and much of the U.S. is opioid abuse. Many organisations seek to tackle the epidemic. This includes Virginia Tech’s public health program, within the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, which works to reduce opioid dependence and deal with the mental health impacts on those suffering from or being treated for addiction and the people around them.
Kathy Hosig steers efforts by Virginia Tech’s public health program to address the crisis, supported by funding from the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority.
“What we hope to do is to reduce substance misuse and addiction across the state, and we try to go to areas that are most affected,” Hosig tells Digital Journal. “The idea is that through disseminating evidence-based prevention materials, that we prevent substance misuse and addiction so that we don’t have the adverse outcomes, and then we don’t need so much treatment and recovery.”
Public health education on the Homefront
Such initiatives illustrate the importance of public health education programs in addressing issues on a local and regional level, in addition to projects conducted globally.
In particular, Virginia communities are grappling with the opioid crisis, exacerbated by economic challenges, labor-related chronic pain, and limited health care access. In 2022, the state saw an average of seven overdose-related deaths daily, with fentanyl implicated in 79 percent of fatalities. The economic toll of opioid misuse reached $5 billion in 2021, heavily burdening households.
VCE-COPE
To help to combat this, Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Opioid Prevention Education (VCE-COPE) program has implemented evidence-based initiatives targeting prevention and mental health resilience.
The program employs coordinators who collaborate with schools, community-based organizations, and coalitions to deliver programs such as Botvin LifeSkills and Mental Health First Aid that aim to equip youth with decision-making skills and reduce stigma around mental health.
Examples of fostering community engagement include working with schools, faith-based organizations, and other community partners. Through this, VCE-COPE seeks to create discussions on the opioid epidemic while reducing stigma around mental health.
“This project in particular is getting the evidence-based materials out to as many localities and to as many people in those localities as we can, so that the communities decide how to use them,” Hosig explains.
The project led by Hosig was funded for five years by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, building on previous projects funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As that funding concluded, the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority (OAA) stepped in.
“Our model is that we pay for the teachers to be trained, and then the teachers teach the curriculum in the school to the students,” Hosig says. “And what we’ve heard from teachers is it really helps their relationship with the students, and it really makes a difference.”
The efforts are yielding results in affected communities.
