Category: Workplace Supported Recovery

ONDCP Launches New Recovery Ready Workplace Toolkit

  In 2022, approximately 110,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. At the same time, 46 million Americans aged 18 or older experienced a substance use disorder in 2022. Nearly two thirds of those people (30.1 million) were employed. The drug overdose epidemic is occurring in and impacting workplaces. Unintentional overdose from the nonmedical use Read More >

Posted on by Jamie C. Osborne, MPH, CHES®; L. Casey Chosewood, MD, MPH; John Howard, MD; Peter Gaumond4 Comments

NIEHS and NIOSH Explore the Expansion of Recovery Friendly Workplace Programs

Recovery friendly workplaces (RFWs) have emerged around the United States as an important intervention to both prevent and address substance use disorders (SUD) and the opioid overdose crisis among workers. A RFW program strives to prevent SUD and overdose by creating a safe, hazard-free and healthy workplace by reducing the chance of injury and the Read More >

Posted on by Jamie C. Osborne, L. Casey Chosewood, Allison Weingarten, Jonathan Rosen, Sharon Beard2 Comments

Workplace Supported Recovery: New NIOSH Research Addresses an Evolving Crisis

Introduction The nation continues to struggle with a complex, ever-changing substance use landscape and an increase in related overdose deaths. Substance use disorders (SUDs) represent an important public and occupational health issue that is costly for society and limits an individual’s success and opportunities in many important areas of life (e.g., family, friendships, employment).1,2 The Read More >

Posted on by Michael R. Frone, PhD; Jamie C. Osborne, MPH, CHES®; L. Casey Chosewood, MD, MPH; and John Howard, MD

NIOSH Miner Health Program Addresses Substance Use and Work

  Drug overdoses have accelerated over the past two decades, and in 2017, the United States Department of Health and Human Services deemed the opioid crisis a public health emergency. In April of 2021, the U.S. surpassed 100,000 drug overdose deaths for the preceding 12-month period, marking a nearly 29% increase from the previous 12-months. Read More >

Posted on by Carol T. Nixon, PhD; Zoë J. Dugdale, MPH; Jamie C. Osborne, MPH, CHES®; and L. Casey Chosewood, MD, MPH

New NIEHS Resources to Prevent and Address Opioid Misuse and Promote Recovery Friendly Workplace Programs

The opioid crisis has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics shows that in 2020 there was a 29% increase in the number of overdose deaths compared to the same time frame the previous year.[1] This crisis has severely impacted the U.S. workforce, especially industries with a high risk Read More >

Posted on by Jonathan Rosen, Jamie C. Osborne, and L. Casey Chosewood

Cannabis and Work: The Need for More Research

Introduction Cannabis sativa has been used for a wide variety of industrial, medical, and non-medical uses for thousands of years, yet remains a source of controversy across the fields of medicine, law, and occupational safety1-5. Access to and consumption of cannabis have increased as a result of more favorable public attitudes and state access laws. Read More >

Posted on by Jamie Osborne, MPH, CHES®, and John Howard, MD11 Comments

Drug Overdose in the Workplace and the Role of Opioids

The drug overdose epidemic continues to afflict our country. Nationally, there were more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017 [i] involving opioids (such as fentanyl, heroin and hydrocodone), stimulants (such as cocaine and methamphetamine), and alcohol.[ii] Nearly 70% of these deaths involved an opioid.[ii] Recent data show that drug overdoses at work are increasing. Read More >

Posted on by Dawn Castillo, MPH; Michael Fiore, MS; Emily Sparer-Fine, ScD; Hope M. Tiesman, PhD; Steve Wurzelbacher, PhD5 Comments