Opioid Crisis and Black African American Population

Course overview

This course is based upon material published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and is available as an open access article. The current opioid epidemic is one of the largest drug epidemics recorded in US history for all racial and ethnic groups, but attention to this epidemic has focused primarily on white suburban and rural communities. One consequence of this lack of focus on black and African American communities has been the criminalization of substance abuse among this population, as opposed to treating the epidemic as a public health issue. Failure to treat substance use disorders as medical conditions results in an emphasis on incarceration, rather than on prevention, treatment, and recovery. This course examines the effects of the opioid epidemic on black and African American communities, providing recent data on prevalence, discussing contextual factors, highlighting outreach and engagement strategies, and emphasizing the importance of ongoing community voice and leadership in developing and implementing solutions to this public health crisis. This course on opioid use in the black and African American communities is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop or increase their knowledge of opioid use in black and African American communities. The course material includes a review of outreach and engagement strategies. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. Authors: Victoria Chau, lead author for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding the impact of the opioid crisis on the black and African American communities. Specifically, a professional will: Identify recent data on the prevalence of opioid misuse and opioid overdose death rates in the black and African American populations in the United States Discuss contextual factors that impact the opioid epidemic, including challenges to accessing early intervention and treatment Explain innovative outreach and engagement strategies that have the potential to connect individuals with evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery Citation: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: The Opioid Crisis and the Black and African American Population: An Urgent Issue. Publication No. PEP20-05-02-001. Office of Behavioral Health Equity. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2020.