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. 2020 Oct 4;217:108325. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108325

Table 1.

Identification of populations at heightened risk for opioid-involved overdose death.

Identification locations
Sample methods/resources
  • 1) Criminal justice and service venues: Identification procedures

  • 1)

    Criminal justice settings

  • 2)

    Syringe service programs

  • 3)

    Health-care facilities

  • 4)

    First responder stations (e.g., police and fire stations)

  • 5)

    Addiction treatment and recovery facilities

  • 6)

    Mental/behavioral health treatment facilities

  • 7)

    Community-based social service agencies

  • 8)

    Hotline (phone or internet) responding to service requests

  • 2) Outreach: Field-based population detection methods


  • 1)

    Point of contact during 911 (emergency telephone number in North America) call

  • 2)

    Peer/social networking

  • 3)

    Community outreach initiatives/ events

  • 4)

    Mobile vans

  • 3) Surveillance and Other Records Systems: rapid and/or proactive use of existing data to target populations and detect “outbreaks”


  • 1)

    Non-fatal overdose records (911 calls/EMS; ED encounters)

  • 2)

    Records of people having called service systems/hotlines

  • 3)

    Frequent use of other health services

  • 4)

    Substance Use Disorder/Mental Health treatment records

  • 5)

    Records of individuals encountering law enforcement

Footnotes. SAMHSA = Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; EMS = Emergency medical services; ED = Emergency department.