The 'Soul' and the 'Science' of the Opioid Crisis

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Resources to Help with 
the 'Soul' and the 'Science' of the Opioid Crisis

There are suggested scholarly source readings posted to the classroom; however, you can feel free to review the items below for opinions, statistics, reliable viewpoints, and general perceptions of the issue.  

For insights into what the Church is doing about the crisis, see the classroom readings or the two articles below.

Meyer, Holly. "Religious groups help transform addiction from moral failure to treatable disease." USA Today. 15 Apr. 2017. Gannett Satellite Information Network. 23 Sept. 2019 <https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/04/13/houses-of-worship-battle-addictions/100406200/>.

Stetzer, Ed. "The Church's Response to the Opioid Crisis: Practical Tool Kit for Faith-Based Leaders." The Exchange | A Blog by Ed Stetzer. 18 Jan. 2018. 23 Sept. 2019 <https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2018/january/churchs-response-to-opioid-crisis-practical-tool-kit-for-fa.html>.

Essay 1 Readings for Scholarly Sources ·         E1 Article Excerpt - Current Challenges in Educat... ·         E1 Article - "Dr. Jacquelyn Corley, To Fix the O... ·         E1 Article - "We Can't Arrest our Way out of Add... ·         E1 Article - Religious Groups Help Transform Add... ·         E1 Article - The Church’s Response to the Opioid... ·         E1 Article - Pain Management and the Opioid Epi... ·         E1 Article - Acupuncture for Detoxification in T... ·         E1 Article - Legislative: Responding to the Fatal... ·         E1 Article (.pdf) - Therapy vs Opioid Dependence... ·         E1 Article Excerpt -- Drug Addiction: A Global Chal...

For insights into what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doing about the crisis, see the content and links below from...

National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Opioid Overdose Crisis." NIDA. 22 Jan. 2019. 23 Sept. 2019 <https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis>.

What are HHS and NIH doing about it?

In response to the opioid crisis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is focusing its efforts on five major priorities:

1. improving access to treatment and recovery services
2. promoting use of overdose-reversing drugs
3. strengthening our understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance
4. providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and addiction
5. advancing better practices for pain management

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of HHS, is the nation's leading medical research agency helping solve the opioid crisis via discovering new and better ways to prevent opioid misuse, treat opioid use disorders, and manage pain. In the summer of 2017, NIH met with pharmaceutical companies and academic research centers to discuss:

1. safe, effective, non-addictive strategies to manage chronic pain
2. new, innovative medications and technologies to treat opioid use disorders
3. improved overdose prevention and reversal interventions to save lives and support recovery

In April 2018 at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced the launch of the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) Initiative, an aggressive, trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis.

Related Resources

Preventing An Opioid Overdose (PDF, 1MB) (CDC)

• HEAL Initiative Research Plan (NIH, June 2018)
• As Opioid Use Disorders Increased, Prescriptions for Treatment Did Not Keep Pace (NIDA Notes, July 2018)
• HHS Works to Improve Testing for Fentanyl (0:42) (May 2018)
• All Scientific Hands on Deck" to End the Opioid Crisis (Nora Volkow and Francis Collins, May 2017)
• Using Science to Inform Practice and Policy: A Coordinated Approach to Research Priority Setting (Summary of December 11, 2017 meeting)
• National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) - New Hampshire HotSpot Study Finds Extensive Poly Drug Use in Fentanyl-related Deaths
• NIDA-Funded Opioid Research
• FDA grants marketing authorization of the first device for use in helping to reduce the symptoms of opioid withdrawal (FDA, November 2017)
• Illicit Drug Use, Illicit Drug Use Disorders, and Drug Overdose Deaths in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas — United States (MMWR) (CDC, October 2017)
• Underlying Factors in Drug Overdose Deaths (JAMA, October 2017)
• NIH Director Francis Collins on America’s opioid crisis (5:08) (Washington Post, September 2017)
• Contribution of Opioid-Involved Poisoning to the Change in Life Expectancy in the United States, 2000-2015 (JAMA, September 2017)
• New Opioid Overdose Materials for Patients (CDC, August 2017)
  Prescription Opioids: What You Need to Know (PDF, 1MB) (CDC)
• Blog - “All Scientific Hands on Deck” to End the Opioid Crisis (May 2017)
• Blog - Addressing America’s Fentanyl Crisis (April 2017)
• Blog - The CDC Provides Crucial New Guidance on Opioids and Pain (April 2016)
• Testimony - What Science tells us About Opioid Abuse and Addiction  (January 2016)
• Testimony - What is the Federal Government Doing to Combat the Opioid Abuse Epidemic? (May 2015)
• Testimony - America’s Addiction to Opioids: Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse (May 2014)

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© J. Lynn H. Dick, 2019 For Educational Purposes Only JDick13@liberty.edu