USU Extension Press Release
Utah State University Extension was recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to address health and safety issues impacting rural populations. The funding was awarded to 11 land-grant universities developing educational programs to address key health challenges in rural areas.
USU Extension’s $350,000 three-year grant will focus on reducing the impacts of opioid misuse in Duchesne, Uintah, and Daggett counties in northeast Utah. In response, USU Extension developed the TriCounty Overdose Prevention Program (TOPP), which will provide overdose prevention and harm reduction education and outreach to occupational groups with a high risk of overdose death as well as populations facing health disparities in the region, including Hispanics and Native Americans.
Aaron Hunt, program director, is assistant professor and Extension health and wellness specialist in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at USU. He said the program will focus on overdose prevention, including training for the use of Narcan®, the life-saving nasal spray medication that can temporarily stop an opioid overdose. The program will also help individuals recognize overdose signs and symptoms and assist in connecting people to treatment services, particularly for opioid use disorder.
“Drug poisoning deaths remain the leading cause of injury death in Utah, with about 10 deaths per week, seven of them due to opioids,” he said. “Our goal is to change those statistics and decrease overdose deaths by 10% at the end of the three-year grant period.”
Hunt said three factors can increase the risk of becoming addicted to any substance or behavior: Past trauma, especially as a child, can impact brain development and cause the person to be more likely to participate in risky behaviors, including substance use; genetics can cause a predisposition to addictions; and environment can be a protective factor if it is positive, but it can feed into addictive behavior if it is negative.
“Everyone has the potential to develop a substance use disorder, but people with more of these common risk factors need resources and education to prevent or address addiction before it becomes deadly,” he said. “We are extremely grateful for this grant to help people impacted by substance use disorders and reduce overdose deaths.”
Hunt said the grant will target individuals in occupations known to be at high risk for substance use and overdose death, such as construction, drilling, mining, manufacturing, and the service industry.
“The leading cause of death for construction workers is opioid overdose,” he said. “Construction and other blue-collar workers commonly get injured and will seek opioid pain medications from doctors, coworkers, or friends to ensure they don’t miss work and a paycheck. This can lead to the development of an opioid addiction over time. Most doctors limit access to opioids, which can lead to the purchase of illicit drugs, many of which commonly contain fentanyl. This cheap, powerful, and dangerous opioid is currently responsible for most overdose deaths.”
Hunt said in addition to those in high-risk occupations, overdose prevention training will also be provided to non-English speaking groups in the three counties, specifically Spanish speakers and Native Americans, both of which often lack access to these programs.
“We want to provide these specific groups with resources so they have harm reduction training, treatment, and support available,” he said. “We will also provide training for businesses, inviting employees to participate. We will supply Narcan® and ensure that employees know how to administer it effectively at work and home.”
Hunt said two grant kickoff events were held in September in conjunction with National Recovery Month: an oil, gas, and blue-collar worker wellness summit and an event for Spanish speakers in the service industry. A Tribal-focused event is in the works.
Hunt said USU Extension also has a seed grant to help provide overdose prevention training anywhere in Utah. For information on the grant, contact him at aaron.hunt@usu.edu.