New Opiate Addiction & Treatment Resource from SIS

Posted by Martha Meacham on July 5th, 2017 Posted in: NLM Resources
Tags: Addiction, New England, Opioid, Resource, SIS

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The National Library of Medicine’s Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) has released a new portal for Opiate Addiction and Treatment. This portal includes links to reliable, vetted information covering a number of aspects related to the opioid crisis including Understanding Addiction, Overdose, Treatments, Pregnancy, and more.

As many are aware, opioid use and addiction have hit New England particularly hard. For example, the Chapter 55 report from the Massachusetts state government found, “Opioid-related deaths in the state were more than four times higher in 2015 than in 2000. This recent rate of increase is several times faster than anything seen here before. In 2013–2014 alone, opioid-related deaths occurred in two-thirds of the cities and towns in Massachusetts… The opioid-related death rate in Massachusetts has surpassed the national average, with an especially sharp rise in the last two years. In fact, 2014 marked the first year since 1999 that the fatal overdose rate in the Bay State was more than double the national average.” Similarly, according to the CDC, New Hampshire had an increase in drug overdose deaths of a staggering 73.5% between 2013 and 2014. The other New England states have been similarly affected.

The new Opiate Addiction and Treatment portal released by SIS is just one of the many ways the National Library of Medicine is hoping to help address the opioid crisis. SIS has a long history of providing specialized, targeted resources for librarians, health professionals, and the public. SIS produces information resources covering toxicology, environmental health, HIV/AIDS, outreach to underserved and special populations, HIV/AIDS, drugs and household products, and disaster/emergency preparedness and response. The Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) covers toxicology, environmental health, and chemistry. The Outreach and Special Populations Branch (OSPB) works to improve access to accurate, quality health information by underserved and special populations. The Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) provides online and downloadable resources about emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. The Office of Clinical Toxicology (OCT) develops new resources and enhances existing NLM resources for professionals in toxicology and related fields. SIS also coordinates many of the National Library of Medicine’s HIV/AIDS information activities.

The NNLM NER is also working to address this topic by meeting the specific needs of our region and network members. We hope to provide resources, training, and develop programs that will address this growing issue for public and academic librarians, community organizations, the public, and others. We welcome any questions or comments on what would be most helpful. Please contact our office for more information or to share how we can help.