Despite the implementation of numerous successful harm reduction programs across the state, accessing harm reduction services remains a challenge for those living in rural communities. This lack of proximity to resources can directly impact the outcomes for those at risk of an opioid overdose. Our proposal seeks to utilize an untapped healthcare resource currently available in nearly every rural community in Georgia: our pharmacists. More than ninety percent of the US population live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy. With rural community pharmacists often being the only accessible healthcare professionals nearby, they also have the advantage of existing relationships and trust built within those communities. Despite being one of the most accessible and trusted healthcare resources, pharmacy has not yet been widely included in the harm reduction landscape. Enlisting these pharmacies to assist in increasing both access and education for harm reduction measures for those at risk of an opioid overdose can help to reduce the current death rate in these areas of our state.
Our project will seek to accomplish three goals:
1. Increase access to harm reduction services, with a focus on naloxone distribution, by utilizing an existing network of independent pharmacies.
2. Education of individuals falling into opioid overdose risk categories, or those close to those at risk.
3. Data capture assessing demographics, attitudes, and characteristics of those seeking harm reduction services.
Funder: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Amount: $1,182,902
PI: Jordan Khail, College of Pharmacy