Early results reported on e-health tool to prevent opioid overdose

The new ORION e-health psychoeducational tool, designed to help opioid-dependent individuals prevent an overdose, can impart new knowledge and impact a person's intention to change opioid abuse behavior, but it did not improve overall self-efficacy in overdose prevention. Researchers concluded that ORION was useful for identifying individuals most in need of reducing modifiable risk factors through appropriate interventions, as reported in an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

In the article entitled "Engagement in the Overdose RIsk InfOrmatioN (ORION) e-Health Tool for Opioid Overdose Prevention and Self-Efficacy: A Preliminary Study," Giuseppe Carrà, University College London (U.K.) and coauthors from University of Milano-Bicocca (Monza, Italy), University of St. Andrews and Startheden Hospital (Fife, U.K.), and Hospital of University of Duisburg-Essen (Essen, Germany) describe ORION and present initial results of its use in opioid-dependent individuals in treatment in four European countries. ORION provides information about the risk of experiencing a drug overdose. This proof-of-concept study evaluated participants before and after exposure to the e-health tool.

"Despite the lack of improvement in overall self-efficacy, the e-health tool, available for free download, did show a positive impact in a clinical setting in four different cultures," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold.