Addressing Opioid Misuse Among Veterans: A Peer-Delivered Opioid Prevention Curriculum International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Pazdera, M., Lor, K. B., Winstead Jr., O., Hamberger, L. K., Curry, B., Franco, Z., O’Connor, S., Gollin-Graves, M., Hurley, R., Gray, T., & Ahmed, S. M. (2021). Addressing opioid misuse among veterans: A peerdelivered opioid prevention curriculum. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 9(1). Article 7. https://doi.org/10.37333/001c.31319
Date
12/30/2021Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD) disproportionately
affects military Veterans, who are more likely
than the general population to experience chronic
pain. A community–academic partnership
launched a community-engaged research (CEnR)
project designed to train Veteran peer mentor
specialists to prevent and reduce opioid abuse
among Veterans. A series of focus groups were
conducted to obtain community input for the
development of an opioid prevention curriculum
to be utilized by peer mentor specialists. The
focus group participants’ experiences contributed
to nuanced perspectives that fostered appreciation
of knowledge and service gaps by using a CEnR
approach. The themes that emerged informed a
curriculum with key concepts related to opioid
abuse and recovery for peer mentor specialists
providing peer support for Veterans. Integrating
research with community input and partnerships
optimizes the opportunity to address aspects of
OUD experienced by Veterans and closes a
significant gap in this area of study and practice.
Author List
Pazdera, M., Lor, K. B., Winstead Jr., O., Hamberger, L. K., Curry, B., Franco, Z., O’Connor, S., Gollin-Graves, M., Hurley, R., Gray, T., & Ahmed, S. M.Author
Kajua B. Lor PharmD Chair, Professor in the School of Pharmacy Administration department at Medical College of WisconsinView Online
