Opioid-Related Public Health Communication Campaigns: An Environmental Scan

Abstract

The opioid overdose epidemic continues to devastate lives across the United States and has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we review 166 online-accessible opioid-related campaigns to understand the current state of the science and practice of campaigns to address the opioid crisis. The findings suggest that health promotion practitioners can have a greater impact on reducing overdose deaths if they move beyond awareness-raising messaging about opioid misuse and place a greater emphasis on driving demand for evidence-based treatments such as medications for opioid use disorder and on reducing stigma related to treatment and recovery.

Keywords: health communication; opioid use disorder; overdose prevention.