Naloxone is a medicine that can reverse an overdose. Improving access to naloxone helps prevent overdose deaths.
Purpose
To assess Rhode Island's progress towards advancing health equity, as part of the Rhode Island Health Equity Measures.
Key Information
| Measure | Ratio: Number of naloxone kits distributed to number of overdose deaths |
| Data Source | Rhode Island Department of Health | PreventOverdoseRI (available annually) |
| Strata | City/Town |
| What this measure means | This measure is expressed as the number of naloxone kits distributed per every one overdose death by city or town. A higher ratio is considered more favorable because it indicates greater availability of naloxone kits and a greater community response to overdose deaths and substance use disorder within the community. The data are available by city and town via the PreventOverdoseRI website, and an interactive map is available for overdose deaths and naloxone data. Any municipality with fewer than five overdose deaths during the year will not have valid, reportable data for this measure. (In these cases, small numbers are suppressed for purposes of statistical reliability and to protect confidentiality.) Thus, data used to compare municipalities should be interpreted with caution, because valid data only exist for areas with more than five deaths per year. |
Key Findings, 2018
- Johnston and North Providence had the highest ratios of naloxone kits to overdose deaths.
- Lincoln had the lowest ratios of naloxone kits to overdose deaths, with fewer than 4 naloxone kits distributed per 1 overdose death in that town.
- 24 out of 39 cities and towns had fewer than 5 overdose deaths in 2018.
- Johnston and North Providence had the highest ratios of naloxone kits to overdose deaths.
- Lincoln had the lowest ratios of naloxone kits to overdose deaths, with fewer than 4 naloxone kits distributed per 1 overdose death in that town.
- 24 out of 39 cities and towns had fewer than 5 overdose deaths in 2018.