OSU study finds that 3/4 of Americans are not confident they can help during a drug overdose

COLUMBUS, OHIO (WLIO) - Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, but a new Ohio State University survey finds that most Americans don’t feel they could help if they see someone suffering from an overdose. The survey was conducted by the OSU College of Medicine and the Wexner Medical Center. It found that 77% of people surveyed were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to respond if they saw someone having an overdose. In the last 20 years, overdose deaths have increased fourfold because of drugs like fentanyl.  The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that nearly 300 people die from overdoses each day in the United States. But using drugs like Naloxone can help reduce those numbers if people act quickly.

“Naloxone has saved countless lives across this country. We’ll really never know how many lives have been saved because so many overdoses go unreported. But our own research here at The Ohio State University shows that when patients come here for the treatment of opioid use disorder, the average patient has survived five accidental overdoses before coming here, and each one of those was a potentially fatal event,” says Dr. Trent Hall, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

But what if you are not sure if a person is overdosing on drugs?

“Now that naloxone is available over the counter, people can get it themselves and be prepared to save the life of a friend, a family member, someone in their community. We know that this expansion is putting this medication in the hands of people at exactly the right moment when it’s needed, and we expect that this is going to save countless lives,” adds Hall.

Hall says if people carry Naloxone, which is sold over the counter and given away at health departments, people will feel more confident to help if an overdose is happening.