Executive Director, NNLM MAR
Opioid overdoses have increased dramatically in recent years. Millions of people in the United States suffer from substance use disorders. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) have responded with increased online health information resources and training.
National Library of Medicine resources include:
- MedlinePlus: the premier patient education resource of the National Institutes of Health. MedlinePlus has over 1,000 health topics in English and Spanish, including Opioid Abuse and Addiction, Opioid Abuse and Addiction Treatment, Pregnancy and Opioids, and Safe Opioid Use.
- Drug Information Portal: a one-stop portal of the NLM and other governmental information about over 78,000 prescription, non-prescription, and controlled substances. The listing for Fentanyl includes patient education resources, summaries on liver toxicity and the effect of the drug on breastfeeding mothers and babies, chemical structures, and preformulated searches of PubMed and TOXNET.
- NCBI Bookshelf: free full-text books and practice guidelines.
- Opiate Addiction and Treatment (Enviro-Health Links): resource guide of NLM and other trusted sources. Topics include: medications to treat opioid addiction, opioid prescribing, and data and statistics. Preformulated searches for PubMed and other NLM resources are included.
HSLS is home to the NNLM regional office for the Middle Atlantic region (MAR). Many NNLM MAR constituents, especially public libraries, have responded to the crisis with public events and staff training. For example, the Reading Public Library hosted a panel discussion that included the Pennsylvania Physician General, first responders, and a mother who lost a child to the epidemic. After the public event, Lydia Collins, former NNLM MAR staff member, provided training for library staff on health information resources.
NNLM MAR Education and Health Literacy Coordinator Michelle Burda has created a new one hour introduction on finding authoritative health information about opioid abuse and overdose prevention and treatment options. The training was piloted with Medical Reserve Corps members from across Delaware. This webinar is appropriate for anyone providing health information to the general public including librarians, educators, and healthcare professionals.
Understanding the Opioid Crisis: Where do I begin?
November 28, 2018
2 p.m.–3 p.m. EST
Register (requires a free NNLM online account—recording will be sent to all registrants)
To view past webinars from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, check out our new YouTube playlist on Substance Misuse.