2024 National Forum on Overdose Fatality Review: Health Equity in Action

Moderator: Laura Kollar, CDC

Engaging LGBTQIA+ Youth for Community-level Change

The Scott County, Indiana, Overdose Fatality Review Team identified that supports for the LGBTQIA+ youth population were needed to reduce the incidence of substance use onset and progression of substance use disorders. A local mental health provider created a space for youth that identify as LGBTQIA+ to voice concerns and learn skills in organizing to improve health outcomes. The youth created a plan for items that would aid them in seeking health equality and have successfully completed two of three goals for the year. The third goal is still ongoing.

Data-informed Overdose Prevention Efforts for the Latinx Population

The Riverside County, California, Overdose Data to Action (RODA) Program’s overdose fatality review (OFR) multidisciplinary team meets monthly to review selected overdose cases within a pre-identified focus area, informed through monthly surveillance data trends (e.g., individuals experiencing homelessness, African-American/Black women, in-custody deaths). At each OFR meeting, data trends are presented and utilized to facilitate discussions on those themes to inform recommendations for those populations. Overdose deaths among the Latinx population increased by 55 percent from 2020 to 2023. To address this alarming increase, RODA developed partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) with expertise in conducting outreach with Latinx communities. Utilizing Promotores, the CBOs delivered substance use prevention and harm reduction education. Preliminary data shows that there has been a decrease in overdose fatalities in the Latinx population from January to August 2023, when compared to the same period in 2022.