2025-06-12 –, Posters Display 3
Background: Opioid overdose deaths can be prevented by the timely administration of naloxone by lay responders. However, this requires sufficient members of the public to carry naloxone and have been trained in how to recognise and respond to an overdose. Take-home naloxone (THN) schemes exist in several countries, including the UK, and almost always involve a training component. However, there is no accepted consensus on the optimal format, content, and duration of training and online/remote THN schemes have not been formally evaluated in the UK.
Aims: The current study has the following aims: (1) co-develop “brief” and “full” versions of opioid overdose training designed for remote delivery; (2) compare the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the brief and full versions of opioid overdose training; and (3) determine the feasibility and acceptability of an online click-and-deliver system for delivery of personal naloxone kits.
Methods: Two versions of online opioid overdose management training will be co-developed with key stakeholders, including people who use opioids and their friends and family members: a “brief” version including only the most essential information, and a “full” version including detailed information, on how to recognise and respond to an overdose. We will then test these two versions in a pilot online randomised trial. Participants will be people who are at risk of witnessing an opioid overdose. They will first complete the Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS) and the Opioid Overdose Attitude Scale (OOAS) to assess their knowledge and confidence in responding to an overdose. They will then be randomised to the brief or full training, after which they will complete both scales one more time. Finally, they will be asked to provide their details to get sent a naloxone kit. We will follow up with participants after three months, at which point they will complete the OOKS and OOAS scales again and be asked about their carriage and use of naloxone. Feasibility and acceptability will be indicated by successful recruitment and retention of participants and participant ratings of their satisfaction with the training (brief vs. full) and click-and-deliver system.
Results: We will present brief and full versions of a new online opioid overdose management training programme. The study will also provide preliminary evidence on whether one type of training is superior to the other and give an initial evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of online click-and-deliver THN in the UK.
Conclusion: The results of this pilot trial will inform a larger study exploring online delivery of opioid overdose training and THN. This will inform future development of online/remote THN programmes in the UK.
Martine Skumlien, Department of Addictions, King's College London, UK
Kat Petrilli, Department of Addictions, King's College London, UK
John Strang, Department of Addictions, King's College London, UK
Martine Skumlien is a postdoctoral research associate in the Addictions Policy Research Unit at King’s College London. Her current research is focused on exploring how to increase access to and carriage of naloxone and developing new measures of naloxone delivery. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge where she investigated the association between acute and chronic cannabis exposure and reward processing in adults and adolescents, using behavioural and neuroimaging methods. She has also previously led mixed-methods research into the need for drug checking and detection of novel psychoactive substances, particularly synthetic cannabinoids, at the University of Bath.