Learning Library

Our Learning Library is intended as a virtual resource center where professionals can go for a broad range of information relating to interoperability, information-sharing and the six domains in which NIC primarily works: human services, education, public health, public safety, health information technology and emergency services. We have vetted and aggregated numerous studies, guidance documents and other materials, which can be sorted in a variety of ways for easy access and use – and we will add resources continually over time. The Learning Library is available to all professionals interested in the subject matter.

To make the Learning Library as robust and beneficial as possible, we welcome recommendations of relevant content that users encounter elsewhere, that they have produced themselves or that they are already utilizing. Please fill out and submit the form below to provide your suggestions and comments, or send an email to info@stewardsofchange.org.

04-08-2019 Report

Tracking Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Crisis

Despite thorough focus on the drivers of the opioid epidemic, less attention has been placed on federal invesetments and whether or not they are targeting communities most affected and with the highest opioid related deaths. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) presents a comprehensive report which documents 57 federally funded opioid programs in the fiscal years 2017 and 2018. The programs span prevention, treatment and recovery efforts. The objective of this document is to help minimize duplicative efforts and maximize use and efficiency of limited resources. Additionally, five geographically diverse states: Arizona, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee- whose opioid deaths were 144 percent higher than the national average in 2017, are analyzed to compare how opioid funds are allocated.

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04-08-2019 Article

Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Save Lives

Three Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) drug medications are now U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and available. Yet, many people who would benefit greatly, “subpopulations” (i.e adolescents and young adults, people in rural areas, and racial and ethnic minority groups), disproportionately lack access to necessary medications. To more widely address the opioid crisis, further research on the differences between OUD subpopulations is needed as well as the development of culturally appropriate treatment guidelines.

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03-14-2019 Report

The Ripple Effect: The Impact of the Opioid Epidemic on Children and Families

The United Hospital Fund, supported by the Millbank Memorial Fund, highlights the impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families. This publication delivers a comprehensive look at the successive waves of loss and trauma experienced by newborns, young children, adolescents, and their families—including a blueprint for meaningful action aimed at public and private agencies and professionals.

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03-05-2019 framework

Preventing Opioid Misuse in the States and Territories: A Public Health Framework for Cross-Sector Leadership

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), in collaboration with the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), developed the Preventing Opioid Misuse in the States and Territories framework to provide a public health-facilitated approach for states and territories to respond to the nation’s opioid crisis. Used effectively, this tool will help states and territories organize resources and look across their jurisdictions to identify where planning is strong, where there are gaps, and where they can expand collaboration and engage in strategic conversations with partners across sectors to coordinate planning.

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02-11-2019 Agenda

Facilitating out-of-home caregiving through health information technology: survey of informal caregivers’ current practices, interests, and perceived barriers

BACKGROUND: Many patients with chronic conditions are supported by out-of-home informal caregivers-family members, friends, and other individuals who provide care and support without pay-who, if armed with effective consumer health information technology, could inexpensively facilitate their care. OBJECTIVE: We sought to understand caregivers’ use of, interest in, and perceived barriers to health information technology for out-of-home caregiving. METHODS: We conducted 2 sequential Webbased surveys with a national sample of individuals who provide out-of-home caregiving to an adult family member or friend with a chronic illness. We queried respondents about their use of health information technology for out-of-home caregiving and used multivariable regression to investigate caregiver and care-recipient characteristics associated with caregivers’ technology use for caregiving. RESULTS: Among 316 out-of-home caregiver respondents, 34.5% (109/316) reported using health information technology for caregiving activities. The likelihood of a caregiver using technology increased significantly with intensity of caregiving (as measured by number of out-ofhome caregiving activities). Compared with very low intensity caregivers, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of technology use was 1.88 (95% CI 1.01-3.50) for low intensity caregivers, 2.39 (95% CI 1.11-5.15) for moderate intensity caregivers, and 3.70 (95% CI 1.62-8.45) for high intensity caregivers. Over 70% (149/207) of technology nonusers reported interest in using technology in the future to support caregiving. The most commonly cited barriers to technology use for caregiving were health system privacy rules that restrict access to care-recipients’ health information and lack of familiarity with programs or websites that facilitate out-of-home caregiving. CONCLUSIONS: Health information technology use for out-of-home caregiving is common, especially among individuals who provide more intense caregiving. Health care systems can address the mismatch between caregivers’ interest in and use of technology by modifying privacy policies that impede information exchange.

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