Opioid overdose | The first stage of teacher training has been completed

About 2,300 high school teachers in four Canadian provinces can now teach their students how to respond to opioid overdoses.

Just under 800 of these teachers live in Quebec.

The ACT Advanced Coronary Emergency Care Foundation has added naloxone, an antidote that must be administered nasally to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose.

“Thanks to this training, we have more students who can respond to emergencies and who can sometimes make a difference,” said Salim Grim, program manager for the ACT Foundation in Quebec.

The first phase of this training program, launched in June 2022, has already reached 2,300 teachers in 830 high schools in Quebec, Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. It is estimated that more than 160,000 students may now receive training each year on how to respond to a suspected opioid overdose.

The training allows teachers to teach students about opioids and how overdose occurs; what is naloxone and how does it work; recognize suspected opioid overdose; and responding to possible overdose, including administering naloxone nasal spray if necessary.

“Response to opioid overdose is a new problem that has emerged in Canada in recent years,” recalls ACT Foundation Director of Operations Jennifer Russell. This is also an aspect related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This is something that students and even their teachers consider to be completely logical and normal in our teaching. »

There were nearly 6,000 apparent opioid overdose deaths between January and September 2023, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction notes that 94% of opioid overdose deaths are accidental, and that young Canadians aged 15 to 24 make up the fastest-growing population that is more likely to require hospital care for an opioid overdose.

“Preparing the next generation of Good Samaritans starts in school,” Mr. Grim said. We started with cardiac resuscitation several years ago. A defibrillator was added to this training, and post-opioid overdose training was a logical progression. »