Creating Training Resources to Protect Workers from Opioid-Related Hazards
The ask: In response to the nation’s opioids crisis, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Training Program (WTP) requested assistance developing a series of training tools to raise awareness of the connection between workplace injuries, psychological stressors, and opioid use, and to provide insights on methods to better protect the health and safety of workers.
The solution: MDB’s subject matter experts worked with WTP-funded organizations to develop numerous training tools related to the opioid crisis. In 2018, MDB developed “Prevention of Occupational Exposure to Fentanyl and Other Opioids.” In 2019, MDB developed a new training tool, “Opioids and the Workplace: Prevention and Response,” which emphasizes that prevention of occupational injuries is key to avoiding pain treatment that can lead to opioid use disorder (OUD) and aims to eliminate the stigma associated with OUD. These training tools and others like the Checklist for Workplace Opioid Prevention and Response Programs and the Know Your Workplace Legal Rights Related to the Opioid Crisis make up the growing list of resources in the WTP Opioids Toolkit. In fact, some of the resources in the toolkit are available in English and Spanish.
Notable outcomes: MDB continues to develop new tools and expand the breadth of tools in the WTP Opioids Toolkit as relevant worker health and safety issues arise. In 2020, compounding issues surrounding the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic and the opioid crisis led to the development of a new fact sheet, “The COVID-19 Pandemic is Fueling the Opioid Crisis!” Notably, MDB continues to work with WTP-funded organizations to train health and safety instructors and new leaders using the instructor training manual and leadership training course, respectively.
