According to a recent study out of UNC’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy, school nurses in the Carolinas are vying for more access to Naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses, and more training in dealing with opioid overdoses in general.

The study shows that about 40% of school nurses in North and South Carolina have encountered a student with an opioid persription, but only 4% have had access to Naloxone.

Assistant Professor at the Eshelmen School of Pharmacy Delesha Carpenter believes that reaching school-aged children can be instrumental in fighting the opioid crisis.

“Around middle school is when a lot of kids may have initial contact with an opioid medication,” says Carpenter, “so that might be a good place to intervene.”

Carpenter believes that educating students and healthcare providers of the dangers of opioids should be a priority, and points to an educational video made by school nurses and students in Buncombe County highlighting these dangers as an example.

“Teaching the student to be an advocate for themselves when they go into a medical encounter, and that you don’t just have to accept what’s given to you, you can ask questions and ask for alternative medications that don’t have any addictive qualities [is important],” says Carpenter.

According to the study, opioid-related hospital admissions of adolescents aged 15 to 19 increased 175% between 1997 and 2012, and pain relievers were the largest category of misused prescription drugs among teenagers in 2013.

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