THE NORTHEAST COLORADO HEALTH DEPARTMENT SUBSTANCE USE ASSESSMENT
The Northeast Colorado Health Department (NCHD) partnered with OMNI to conduct an opioid and substance use regional assessment of Health Statistics Region 1 (HSR1), the catchment area which NCHD serves. HSR1 is located in the northeast corner of Colorado and consists of Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma Counties. The goal of this regional assessment was to comprehensively assess opioid and substance misuse within HSR1's six counties to provide data for NCHD to use in deciding in how best to strengthen community collaboration and strategic planning to address these challenges.
To comprehensively assess HSR1's opioid and substance use, OMNI employed a two-pronged approach drawing upon both publicly available secondary data and a community survey. Our goal was to root the assessment in both population-level health indicators as well as the lived experience of community members. Below we dive into our primary and secondary data sources and how we used them to development our findings and recommendations.
Secondary Data Indicators and Administrative Data
Our team worked with NCHD to determine their interests, define the list of indicators, and identify priorities for focus. We compiled an assortment of publicly available indicator data related to opioid and prescription drug misuse, alcohol use and misuse, and mental health indicators, as these were determined to provide the most relevant information to inform the current state of opioid and substance misuse and next steps for strategic planning and intervention in HSR1. The use of publicly available data sources also allowed for comparison of HSR1's county and regional data with the state of Colorado as a whole.
Data collected from regional partners, including hospitals, coroner offices, and sheriff offices were also compiled to establish a summary of relevant opioid and other substance misuse data. These data filled a key gap in the public indicator data described above by allowing for examination of county-level data for some indicators that are not typically available at the county level. Several public data sources are only available at the regional level or are not available in some rural HSR1 counties due to the small population size.
Community Survey
In addition to the secondary data, we also wanted to gather data from stakeholders to get a deeper understanding of the community member perspectives. We developed a short survey that NCHD distributed to their partners in northeast Colorado. A total of 28 healthcare workers, law enforcement officers, EMS workers, and coroners in HSR1 completed the survey providing key insights regarding opioid and substance use and misuse.
As professionals with unique connections to their community's opioid and substance use, they provide an important perspective and nuance for this regional assessment. Survey respondents were asked questions specific to their profession as well as general questions regarding their perception of their community's most pressing substance and behavioral health issues.
Findings
Secondary data and the community survey responses were synthesized to generate key findings and recommendations for potential next steps and interventions. The full reports can be found here. Two key findings include:
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Both our survey and the secondary data point to a lack of treatment availability for opioid addiction. We recommend the development of a strategic plan to increase availability of substance use disorder treatment, especially medication-assisted treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and adequate detoxification services. We also recommend continuing to build support among law enforcement agencies to engage in drug collection activities and naloxone trainings.
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Methamphetamine and alcohol are considered the most pressing substance use issues in HSR1 across survey respondents of different professions and counties. Our recommendation is to identify resources or prevention practices needed to address methamphetamine use, which is an increasing issue in both epidemiological data and survey respondents’ feedback.
Although the opioid epidemic is a national issue, each community has its own unique story which requires a personalized approach for substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery. It is not only important to look at the data, but to listen to the community members who are dealing directly with the outcomes of substance misuse in their towns. We enjoyed the opportunity to support NCHD in this assessment, and look forward to seeing how they use these findings to spark next steps within their community.