Street-drug lethality index: A novel methodology for predicting unintentional drug overdose fatalities in population research.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests the composition of local illicit drug markets varies over time and the availability and relative lethality of illicit drugs may contribute to temporal trends in overdose mortality. Law enforcement drug seizures represent a unique opportunity to sample the makeup of local drug markets. Prior research has associated shifts in the types of drugs seized and trends in unintentional drug overdose mortality.

Prescription drug abuse as a public health problem in Ohio: a case report.

Prescription drug overdose is the leading cause of injury death in Ohio, as well as in 16 other states. Responding to the prescription drug epidemic is particularly challenging given the fragmentation of the health care system and that the consequences of addiction span across systems that have not historically collaborated. This case study reports on how Ohio is responding to the prescription drug epidemic by developing cross-system collaboration from local public health nurses to the Governor's office.

Correlates of motivation to change in adolescents completing residential substance use treatment.

This research identified psychosocial correlates of motivation to change in adolescents being discharged from residential treatment for substance use disorders. Using a naturalistic longitudinal design, adolescents in a residential treatment program in southeast Ohio were assessed at intake and discharge using self-administered questionnaires. Surveys assessed motivation to change one's drug and alcohol use, ways of coping to avoid future alcohol/substance use, and social support.