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Problem Statement - In 2015, more than 15,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses, a majority of these being homeless. Naloxone Hydrochloride is the medication used for opioid overdose reversal, however, to be effective, it must be kept between 59 and 77 degrees F. Today, there is no consistent way to distribute portable NARCAN to homeless populations with the guarantee that the medication will stay within the proper temperature range.
Elevator Pitch In 2015, more than 15,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses, a majority being homeless. Currently there is no way to guarantee temperature control for naloxone hydrochloride, which is the opioid reversal drug.
Justification - The Opioid epidemic has grown considerably since 1999, overdose deaths have quadrupled. From 2000 to 2015 more than half a million people died from drug overdoses and an astounding 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. Naloxone Hydrochloride, a counteractive opioid overdose drug, has had huge success cutting down death rates. “The police department of Quincy, Massachusetts, the first in the nation to require every officer on patrol to carry the opioid overdose antidote Naloxone HCl, reports a 95 percent success rate with the treatment. Quincy police have used Naloxone HCl 179 times, and reversed overdoses 170 times since 2010”. People experiencing homelessness disproportionately suffer from opioid overdoses, “Drug overdoses accounted for almost 17 percent of the deaths in a cohort of over 28,000 current or former homeless adults studied from 2003 to 2008. Of those overdose deaths, 81 percent involved opioids.” Today, there is no consistent way to distribute portable Naloxone HCl to populations experiencing homelessness with the guarantee of the medication staying in the proper temperature range.
Facts from:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1556797?tab=cme
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