Angela Hagaman of East Tennessee State University College of Public Health’s Addiction Science Center is lead author of an article in Frontiers in Public Health. The article is titled, “U.S. Cooperative Extension's response to substance misuse: A scoping review.”
Kristen Roark, alumna of the Master of Public Health program in the College of Public Health’s Department of Community and Behavioral Health, and Lisa Tucker Washburn of the University of Tennessee are co-authors.
The U.S. has experienced exponential growth in overdose fatalities over the past four decades and more than 22 million people are currently living with a substance use disorder (SUD). While great strides have been made in advancing the science of substance use disorder prevention and treatment, proven programs and interventions are not commonly disseminated at scale in impacted communities.
The U.S. Cooperative Extension System (Extension) has been recognized as a valued partner in addressing substance use disorder in communities. Federal funding supporting Extension's response to the opioid epidemic reached $35 million in 2021 primarily through two grant programs: the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Health and Safety Education program; and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA) grants. The primary objective of the scoping review was to identify the range of Extension activities aimed at mediating substance misuse.
This is the first review of its kind to provide a snapshot of Extension's efforts to address the opioid and SUD crisis in the U.S. While these results may not include every Extension activity that occurred during the specified time frame, Extension has significantly increased efforts to address the opioid crisis and related challenges operating through a loose confederation of organizations that are part of the land-grant system. Numerous training activities, resources, and toolkits have been developed at the state level through funding by federal grant dollars. The volume of effort is significant. Continued efforts and expanded partnerships, particularly for community-level work, are needed to combat the ongoing epidemic of opioid and substance misuse across the country.