The Growing Xylazine Crisis in the U.S.: Epidemiology and Treatment of Novel Wounds Webinar

Sponsor: Rural Communities opioid Response Program

Presenters: 

• Jon E. Zibbell, PHD, Senior Scientist, Center for Health Behavior and Implementation Science, RTI International 
• Jason Bienert, RN, CWCN, Sr. Research Nurse, Bloomberg School of Public Health

Jon E. Zibbell’s presentation will provide an epidemiological overview of the growing xylazine crisis by addressing both supply and consumption, including unwitting exposure. National drug seizure data will be used to show regional patterns of a growing xylazine supply, and community drug checking will demonstrate where and how xylazine is appearing in local markets. Ethnographic observations and conversations with people who use illicit opioids and stimulants will illustrate how increasingly toxic, illicit opioid markets are impacting drug consumption, social functioning, and consumer health. Current strategies are explained for identifying common and emerging drugs, and the use of syringe services programs (SSPs) as medical homes is proposed.

Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to: 

• Learn how law enforcement drug seizures and community-based drug checking data can serve as proxy indicators for the illicit drug supply and used for public health drug surveillance
• Recognize how the illicit drug market exerts influence on consumer preference for specific drugs, drug combinations, and modes of use
• Understand community strategies for monitoring illicit drug markets and the importance of configuring SSPs as medical homes for people who use drugs

Jason Bienert’s presentation will provide a simple review of xylazine wounds, with real pictures as examples, and interventions that were created with the rural client involved, that are simple and relatively easy to teach others. To close it out, some barriers we encountered along the way will, hopefully, provide some direction to rural organizations dealing with this issue.

Learning Objectives
Participants should be able to: 

• Describe what initial xylazine wounds look like before they become bad
• Develop a simple plan to address wound care in their setting – nothing complicated
• Discuss some of the complications people with open wounds have when seeking substance use treatment, whether in the hospital or treatment/detox facility

For more information and to register click here

Event Details