New Monash University research has found that a free, interactive online tool can help people taking prescription opioids for pain to better understand their risks and adopt safer behaviours, more than doubling requests for naloxone, a medicine that reverses opioid overdose.
Opioids have remained the leading cause of drug-induced deaths in Australia for over two decades, with two-thirds of opioid-related fatalities involving prescription opioids.
An estimated 4 out of 5 people prescribed opioids for chronic pain have at least one overdose risk factor, yet many have limited understanding of these risks. Previous research has found that only an estimated 2 per cent of at-risk individuals have received naloxone.
The randomised controlled trial, published in the journal Addiction, involved 314 Australian adults prescribed opioids for non-cancer pain.
Participants were randomised to use either the Opioid Safety Toolkit, a free, interactive online resource co-designed with consumers and healthcare professionals or an existing government opioid information website.
The toolkit helps users create a personalised safety plan, provides tailored information about their opioid risks and educates them on naloxone and how to access it.
The study found that participants who used the toolkit had significantly greater opioid overdose knowledge and awareness of their own risks compared with the control group.
They were also more than twice as likely to request naloxone compared with the control group (21.7 per cent versus 9.9 per cent) and nearly three times more likely to report intending to access it (41.4 per cent versus 15.4 per cent).
Naloxone is a medicine that safely and effectively reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. It is available for free through Australian community pharmacies to anyone at risk of witnessing or experiencing an overdose.
Lead author and Deputy Director of Monash Addiction Research Centre, Professor Suzanne Nielsen, said the findings show that personalised, interactive education can make a real difference in reducing opioid harm.
"People prescribed opioids are often unaware of their own risks, and we know there are barriers to healthcare professionals starting these conversations," Professor Nielsen said.
"When people understand their own risks and know what they can do about them, they take action. We saw that clearly in this study. People who used the toolkit were far more likely to seek out naloxone and had a much better understanding of overdose risks."
Professor Nielsen said the toolkit's success was closely linked to how it was developed. The resource was co-designed with people with lived experience of being prescribed opioids, alongside pharmacists, prescribers and pain specialists.
"That process was critical in ensuring the toolkit actually met the needs of the people it was designed for," Professor Nielsen said.
"The result is an evidence-based, low-cost resource that can be scaled nationally to complement existing healthcare initiatives."
Professor Nielsen said that while the toolkit demonstrated clear benefits, challenges remain. The study found that some participants who requested naloxone were unable to obtain it because their pharmacy did not stock it.
Recent research from Monash Addiction Research Centre has found that the number of pharmacies stocking naloxone has now increased to almost three quarters. .
"We are lucky in Australia to have a national government funded naloxone program that makes naloxone free for all Australians. We also need pharmacies to be ready to meet demand and to keep addressing the barriers that prevent pharmacists from stocking and offering naloxone," Professor Nielsen said.
The Opioid Safety Toolkit is freely available at www.saferopioiduse.com.au
Read the research paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70412
