NC Essential Actions to Address the Opioid Epidemic: A Local Health Department’s Guide

In an effort to reduce negative health outcomes related to opioid use in North Carolina (NC), the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors’ Opioid Work Group has teamed up with the NC Division of Public Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (IVPB) to create the North Carolina Essential Actions to Address the Opioid Epidemic: A Local Health Department’s Guide. This toolkit was inspired by the Massachusetts Health Officers Association’s Essential Measures: Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Toolkit and structured around the 10 Essential Public Health Services framework, a foundational tool for implementing and assessing any public health activity. The 10 Essential Public Health Services Framework was created in 1994 by the Core Public Health Functions Steering Committee, comprised of representatives from US and other major public health service agencies.

For each of the 10 Essential Services, this resource provides information, tools, and best practices for health directors, health department staff, and their partners to reference when planning efforts to address opioid overdose-related behaviors and outcomes. The toolkit provides local examples of activities, highlighting innovative and successful programs happening in North Carolina communities.

View or download the complete NC Essential Actions to Address the Opioid Epidemic: A Local Health Department’s Guide.