LAUSR

Background: Mirroring the rise in heroin use among older adults, the rate of rise of opioid-related overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017 in Chicago was highest among ages 55-64 (+26 7%) and 65-74 (+95 0%) In Chicago, recent work examining spatial distribution of overdose deaths in adults over 50 showed opioid overdose deaths are geographically clustered This hyper-local impact creates an opportunity for locationally targeted interventions Opioid overdose education and community naloxone distribution (OEND) is cost effective, results in reduced opioid-related emergency department visits, and may have a mortality benefit The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the opioid crisis and 2020 was the deadliest year for opioid overdoses in the history of Chicago but many in-person community outreach and training initiatives have paused or been transitioned to virtual platforms due to the pandemic A video-conferencing based virtual OEND intervention targeting community organizations identified to be within communities with high overdose rates for older adults has the potential to reach this particularly vulnerable population during the limits imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic Methods: An existing in-person training for opioid overdose identification and naloxone administration was adapted to a virtual format and revised to include precautions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (e g changes needed to respiratory resuscitation) A protocol was developed for participants to acquire naloxone Next steps include soliciting curriculum feedback from diverse stakeholders We then plan to deliver the curriculum to senior housing residents, community-dwelling older adults, and aging services professionals Program recruitment will be focused in areas with more highly clustered fatal overdoses A 5-item Likert assessment on participant confidence in responding to overdose will be used for evaluation Results: The results will be discussed and will include data on number of trainings, attendee types, and post-training survey results Conclusions: A geographically targeted virtual OEND training represents an innovative means to continue essential outreach aimed at reducing the frequency of fatal opioid overdoses among Chicago's older adults in high-risk communities