HEALing Communities Study: Data measures for supporting a community-based intervention to reduce opioid overdose deaths.

Introduction: The HEALing Communities Study (HCS) tested a community-based intervention in 67 communities across Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio to reduce opioid overdose deaths. This paper introduces the HCS measures for monitoring the intervention uptake, reports crude rates for benchmarking, and highlights the importance of interpreting jurisdictional trends in the context of state policies.

Methods: We present technical specifications for the HCS measures and the common data model. Crude rates for the evaluation period (July 2021- June 2022) are reported by state and study arm (intervention/Wave 1 or wait-listed/Wave 2 communities), along with longitudinal trends from 2017 to 2023. Year 2023 serves as a post-intervention period for Wave 1 communities and an intervention year for Wave 2 communities.

Results: After unprecedented increases in 2020-2021, the HCS crude opioid overdose death rates declined in 2023, but remained higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic rates. Opioid overdose death rates exceeded 100/100,000 adults among Non-Hispanic Black individuals in several states. In response to the rapid increase in opioid overdose deaths in Kentucky, the HCS team expanded the naloxone distribution in Kentucky intervention communities, reaching a 10-fold increase in Quarter 3 of 2021 (1498.2 units/100,000 residents). The methadone medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment rate for Medicaid enrollees with opioid use disorder during the evaluation period was highest in Massachusetts intervention communities (274/1000), while the buprenorphine MOUD treatment rate was highest in Kentucky (441/1000).

Conclusions: The HCS measures support comprehensive planning and evaluation of population-level opioid overdose prevention interventions and policies.