The SEOW team is hoping to choose 2-3 deliverables to prioritize in the upcoming year and has brainstormed the following seven deliverable ideas below. If you would like to review previous deliverables developed by the SEOW, please go to our website here.
Disparities in Overdose Fatalities There has been a large shift in demographics among overdose fatalities in 2019 and 2020. For example, according to the CDC, overdose death rates (number of drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people) increased 44% for Black people during this time. This deliverable would illustrate these disparities in Virginia and pull from the literature to show what is happening on a national scale.
Gambling and Gaming PreventionVirginia’s Office of Behavioral Health Wellness has a newly established initiative for Problem Gambling Prevention. This deliverable would promote awareness and knowledge about this new initiative and explain why this issue can be relevant to Virginians' behavioral health. It would provide a “101” on the history of gambling, how it’s grown in popularity, and how it affects the brain. Additionally, it would present topical research on gambling as it relates to addiction and mental health. OMNI would explore Virginia and national data on gambling prevalence and impacts, including this data to the extent that it is available. This deliverable could also provide information on how gambling particularly impacts marginalized groups or low-income areas. Finally, this deliverable could provide prevention resources for readers.
Harm Reduction EffortsHarm reduction emphasizes engaging directly with people who use drugs to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmission and offers low-threshold options for accessing Substance Use Disorder treatment and other health care services. One of the more critical supplies offered is substance test kits, including fentanyl test strips. This deliverable would look at the impacts of harm reduction strategies, such as naloxone or fentanyl test strips, in Virginia.
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in VirginiaCOVID-19 has affected community members' health and wellness beyond the coronavirus virus itself. This deliverable would look at trends in mental health and suicide rates in Virginia over time, potentially broken out by different demographic groups such as LGBTQ+ youth. This report could also highlight how prevention efforts have been modified since the pandemic and different successes and challenges with these adaptations.