Interventions to increase naloxone access for undergraduate students: A systematic review of the literature

• Published in: Journal of American college health p. 1
• Main Authors: Freibott, Christina E, McCann, Nicole C, Biondi, Breanne E, Lipson, Sarah Ketchen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 16.01.2024
• Subjects: College; naloxone; students; undergraduate; opioid
• ISSN: 1940-3208
• DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2299404

To identify and describe interventions that increase access to naloxone for undergraduate students. A systematic review across 4 databases identified interventions that expand access to naloxone at colleges in the United States from 2015-2023. Three reviewers extracted the following data to create a narrative synthesis and summary of program elements: setting, rationale for intervention, timeline, intervention components, study size, collaboration, sustainability, outcomes and results. Seven articles met inclusion criteria. Institutions' implemented naloxone interventions due to concerns for student safety and/or student overdose fatalities. Three universities collaborated with their School of Pharmacy for program design and/or dissemination, while two partnered with state-based naloxone distribution programs. Most programs combined opioid-overdose/naloxone training; four distributed naloxone kits. Three studies included pre/post-outcomes, and all reported increases in participant knowledge, attitudes, and/or ability to respond to an overdose. Our results indicates an opportunity for wide-scale implementation of undergraduate naloxone programs within US colleges. However, more rigorous implementation research is needed to identify barriers and facilitators to program feasibility, acceptability, and participation.