Citation

Winstanley EL. Int. J. Drug Policy 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102796

PMID

32499119

Abstract

Non-fatal and fatal overdoses are traumatic events that have been increasing over the past 20 years and disproportionately impacting rural communities in the United States. The human suffering caused by the opioid epidemic is rarely described in the empirical literature. The purpose of this article is to 1) define individual- and community-level overdose-related compassion fatigue (OCF), 2) review measurement of compassion fatigue (CF) and interventions to reduce CF, 3) discuss strategies that may reduce OCF and 4) briefly discuss policy implications. OCF is distress resulting from knowledge of or exposure to overdose-related harms, which at the community-level may prohibit collaboration and adaptive agency to effectively respond. When OCF occurs at a community-level, it could have negative consequences by eroding support for evidence-based services and fueling stigma-driven policies that blame people who use drugs. Empathy underlies both OCF and vicarious resilience by allowing one to understand the suffering caused by overdose deaths and to witness the joy of addiction recovery. Using the risk environment framework, OCF at the micro- and macro-levels of the social environment, may increase rural communities' vulnerability to harm by emphasizing individual responsibility for reducing overdoses rather than community-level infrastructure and resource management. Additional research is needed to develop a measure of OCF and to confirm whether OCF is associated with increased stigma and decreased support for harm reduction in rural areas.

Language: en

Keywords

Overdose; Community resilience; Compassion fatigue; Drug deaths