Shifting the Opioid Conversation from Stigma to Strengths: Opportunities for Developing Community-Academic Partnerships

Background: Opioid misuse and abuse is a longstanding concern, particularly in underserved communities. Community-level data is needed to understand how to best address the opioid crisis. A strengths-based whole-person approach can offset challenges in working to maximize individual health. Objectives: Project objectives included acquiring and providing data to the community to engage members in meaningful conversations about opioid misuse and abuse and gather insights to shape a response to the opioid crisis. Methods: University of Minnesota School of Nursing faculty collaborated with community partner Hue-MAN Partnership, to develop and implement a Community Opioid Survey at neighborhood meetings. The MyStrengths+MyHealth assessment was used to identify strengths of community members. Community meetings included introductions by the Hue-MAN Partnership, presentation of the survey data, and facilitated discussion to involve community members in data interpretation and solution development. Results: Data was collected at 11 community meetings between June 2018 and May 2019. Approximately half of respondents had been affected by opioid misuse or overdose; oxycodone was the most frequent opioid involved; community clinics were the most available resource; and community education was identified as a needed resource to reduce misuse and overdose. Communities perceived and used language differently in talking about opioids. Conclusion: The community-academic- partnership enabled collection of community-specific data that may have been inaccessible to researchers working alone. Access to community-specific data holds promise for increasing research relevance and for engaging community knowledge and needs.