A rapid-cycle assessment strategy for understanding the opioid overdose epidemic in local communities.

Certain communities in the United States experience greater opioid-involved overdose mortality than others. Interventions to stem overdose benefit from contextual understandings of communities' needs and strengths in addressing the opioid crisis. This project aims to understand multiple stakeholder perspectives on the opioid epidemic in communities disproportionately affected by opioid-involved overdose mortality.

"Stories of starting": Understanding the complex contexts of opioid misuse initiation.

The impacts of opioid use disorder and opioid-involved overdose are known, but less is known about the contexts in which people first misuse opioids, and the motivations for continued misuse. In-depth interviews with 26 individuals in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with current or past histories of opioid misuse were conducted. Narratives were analyzed to understand the circumstances and influences contributing to initial and continued misuse of opioids.