The following resources from U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies provide additional information on alcohol and drug misuse and substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery for a range of audiences and populations.
AHRQ
- Opioid Overdose Toolkit: This toolkit provides communities and local governments with material to develop policies and practices to help prevent opioid-related overdoses and deaths.
- Guide To Developing and Managing Overdose Prevention and Take-Home Naloxone Projects (PDF | 710 KB): This manual outlines the process of developing and managing an overdose prevention and education program, with or without a take-home naloxone component.
- Pharmacotherapy for Adults with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in Outpatient Settings: This publication systematically reviews the evidence regarding the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and adverse effects of medications in adults with AUD. The review is intended to inform health care professionals’ discussions with patients and/or caregivers about treatment options and medication choices.
- The Effectiveness and Risks of Long-Term Opioid Treatment of Chronic Pain: This report reviews the current evidence on effectiveness and harms of opioid therapy for chronic pain.
CDC
- CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain: This guideline provides recommendations for primary care clinicians who are prescribing opioids for chronic pain and addresses 1) when to initiate or continue opioids for chronic pain; 2) opioid selection, dosage, duration, follow-up, and discontinuation; and 3) assessing risk and addressing harms of opioid use.
- Checklist for prescribing opioids for chronic pain: This checklist includes information for primary care providers on things to consider when prescribing long-term opioid therapy (3 months or more) for adults (18+) with chronic pain, excluding cancer, palliative, and end-of-life care.
- The Community Guide: The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide) is a collection of evidence-based findings of the Community Preventive Services Task Force and provides information on alcohol and tobacco interventions to improve health and prevent disease in states, communities, community organizations, businesses, healthcare organizations, or schools.
- Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT): This tool can help school districts, schools, and others conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of health education curricula based on the National Health Education Standards and CDC’s Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum.
FDA
- Opioids Medications: This website consolidates FDA’s most up-to-date information on opioid medication and includes FDA’s comprehensive action plan to reduce the impact of opioid misuse and abuse.
- Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know: This factsheet lists options to consider when disposing of expired, unwanted, or unused medicines and special instructions for doing so.
- Medication Guides: This website includes drug-specific guides for patients on how to safely use certain drugs, as well as FDA-approved information that can help patients avoid serious adverse events.
- What to Ask Your Doctor Before Taking Opioids: This website provides questions every patient should ask their doctor, dentist, or other health care professional before taking opioids.
- Search and Rescue Essentials (PDF | 425 KB): This factsheet for prescriber’s provides an overview of some key tools and resources to help reduce the misuse and abuse of opioids and other prescription medications.
HRSA
- Primary and Behavioral Health Integration: Guiding Principles for Workforce Development (PDF | 842 KB): This paper discusses workforce issues related to the provision of integrated behavioral health and general health care.
- Quick Start Guide to Behavioral Health Integration (PDF | 2.3 MB): This interactive flowchart walks providers through some of the questions to consider when integrating behavioral health care.
- Serving Veterans: A Resource Guide (PDF | 370 KB): This guide, intended for primary and behavioral healthcare professionals, focuses on how integrated care providers can serve veterans and their families.
NIAAA
- Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol and Your Health: This resource provides evidence-based information about drinking patterns in U.S. adults that put them at risk for alcohol problems, as well as support for cutting back or quitting. The website features interactive tools, such as calculators for measuring alcohol calories and drink sizes.
- Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help: This guide assists individuals, and their family and friends in understanding what treatment options are available for alcohol misuse and what to consider when selecting among them.
- Alcohol Overdose: The Dangers of Drinking Too Much: This fact sheet provides information about the signs and symptoms of alcohol overdose.
- Fetal Alcohol Exposure: This fact sheet provides information about the consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure and interventions for individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
- Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention for Youth: A Practitioner's Guide: This guide assists health care providers in identifying 9 to 18-year-olds who are at risk for alcohol use, are using alcohol, or have AUD, and in intervening as appropriate.
- College Alcohol Intervention Matrix (CollegeAIM): This comprehensive tool and website helps college and university officials identify effective alcohol interventions to address student drinking. CollegeAIM rates nearly 60 alcohol interventions in terms of effectiveness, costs, and other factors.
NIDA
- Effective Treatments for Opioid Addiction: This factsheet presents information on effective medications available for opioid addiction and science driven solutions to treatment access and effectiveness.
- Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment: A Research-Based Guide: This guide presents research-based principles of adolescent substance use disorder treatment; covers treatment for a variety of drugs including, illicit and prescription drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; and presents settings and evidence-based approaches unique to treating adolescents.
- Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide: This guide presents research-based principles of effective drug addiction treatment, covers frequently asked questions, and presents evidence-based approaches to drug addiction treatment.
- Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood: This guide begins with a list of 7 principles addressing the specific ways in which early interventions can have positive effects on development; these principles reflect findings on the influence of intervening early with vulnerable populations, on the course of child development, and on common elements of early childhood programs.
- Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What To Ask: This guide includes five questions to ask when searching for a treatment program.
SAMHSA
- Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care (PDF | 2.3 MB): This publication provides a core set of competencies, organized into nine competency categories, for behavioral health and primary care providers. The core competencies are deemed necessary for providing integrated care in diverse settings with diverse populations.
- Decisions in Recovery: Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders: This handbook is designed to help people with an opioid use disorder make informed decisions concerning their care with information about MAT, various treatment options to support recovery, and resources to discuss their preferences with a provider.
- Medication for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Brief Guide: This guide provides evidence on the effectiveness of available medications for the treatment of alcohol use disorder and guidance for the use of medications in clinical practice.
- Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit: This toolkit provides guidance to develop practices and policies to help prevent opioid-related overdoses and deaths.
- Talk. They Hear You: This mobile app features an interactive simulation that helps parents learn the do’s and don’ts of talking to kids about underage drinking.
