Node participating in NDEWS ‘Hot Spot’ study of New Hampshire fentanyl use
June 9, 2016
The CTN Northeast Node is pleased to announce our participation in a National Drug Early Warning Systems (NDEWS) “Hot Spot” study. NDEWS is a NIDA-funded cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland’s Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR).
NDEWS is charged with monitoring drug abuse trends and targeting specific “hot spots” of drug abuse via on-the-ground investigation to enable public health officials to respond quickly to potential outbreaks in their local communities. According to reports from the New Hampshire Drug Monitoring Initiative for February, March, and April 2016, NH experienced recent increases in both drug overdose deaths and opioid-related emergency department visits. Nearly two-thirds of New Hampshire overdose deaths in 2015 involved fentanyl.
NDEWS will be sending a team to NH in early July 2016 to assist in characterizing this recent fentanyl outbreak in a 1-week Hot Spot study. The Northeast Node is facilitating connections with our NH Node partners and local experts for this study and will help with study data collection and dissemination. Examples of information to be collected include overdose death statistics, data on available treatment, drug seizure and drug trafficking statistics, toxicology results for drug items seized, and relevant news and social media reports. This information will help inform a second phase of the study for a more in-depth evaluation of the opioid problem in NH. We look forward to this partnership between the CTN Northeast Node platform and NDEWS on this timely project to address the fentanyl crisis in the state of NH.