Presenter: Sade Parson, Behavioral & Community Health, Global Public Health Scholars
Over the summer, I was given the opportunity to work as an intern for the Howard County Health Department (HCHD), Bureau of Behavioral Health. My efforts focused on the Opioid Overdose Response Program which promotes opioid awareness, provides education to the community, and lends direction for people needing additional resources and support. As an intern I lead Narcan trainings, conducted opioid related research, provided education to community members at health events, kept up with necessary administrative tasks, and brainstormed ideas for new interventions for the HCHD to implement in the future. What I appreciate most about this internship was that I got to experience two different work environments. Sometimes I worked directly with people in the community during presentations and health fairs. Other times I conducted research and completed office duties. As a result, I understand how “behind the scenes” work is equally important as community outreach and how the two work together.
Hi Joshua! Thank you for your comment and I am happy to hear you are also passionate about opioid overdose prevention. You are absolutely right that people in the community wanted to help. In Howard County especially, there are numerous cases each day of opioid overdose and community members felt that they wanted a way to help someone in need if medical attention cannot get there quick enough. That is where Narcan training comes in. It is very similar to CPR training where people who may not necessarily be medical professionals would still like to help if they were ever in an emergency situation. You also make a good point about giving trainings to big audiences. Sometimes there are trainings…
I believe teaching skills like this are essential for limiting opioid overdoses. I found it really interesting how you were able to teach this to everyone in your community, and at various locations. This gave me hope that people were looking for solutions and wanting this epidemic to end. I also enjoyed seeing how you learned to adjust your training based on your audience. You mentioned that you went to schools, so I wonder how you would present this information and training to such a large audience? Especially given it's an audience that may not care as much?
Hi Andrew! Thank you so much for viewing my poster, I am glad you enjoyed it and learned some new information. That is also great to hear that you are a resident of Howard County and remember seeing these opioid overdose prevention posters! A large part of what I did was informing HCPS students about overdose prevention and also youth suicide prevention as these are two very important topics to address to a high school audience. Probably the most enjoyable part about working for the Opioid Overdose Response Program was giving Narcan trainings. Something I really enjoy about community health work is the ability to work directly with people and make a difference hands on. It was very rewarding to…
I believe organizations like the Opioid Overdose response program is a great way to disseminate information about opioid abuse to a large population. Being a resident of Howard County, I believe task forces like these greatly educate the public about the dangers of opioid abuse and how easy it is to get addicted. I remember seeing posters like the ones in your presentation at my high school, and listening to grassroots efforts to warn the public. What was the most enjoyable part of working for the Opioid Overdose response program? Would you recommend working there to other people?