An American dies of an accidental overdose every 8 minutes. Chances are, you or someone you know, has been touched by opioid dependency or overdose. In Countermeasures, we meet some of the people driving positive change to combat the opioid epidemic and destigmatize opioid dependency. Hear the impacts of the epidemic firsthand, and be inspired by the stories of resilience and hope from community advocates, first responders, public health experts and those whose lives have been directly touched by the crisis. Countermeasures is brought to you by Emergent, maker of NARCAN® Nasal Spray. To learn more about what Emergent is doing to address public health threats like the opioid crisis, visit emergentbiosolutions.com


&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;&gt;When you think of the opioid crisis, older adults are likely not what comes to mind. However, older adults are highly impacted by the crisis. For some, it is a result of the opioid medications prescribed for chronic pain, while others have struggled with chronic substance use disorder for years, even before the crisis began.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;ql-cursor&quot;&gt;﻿&lt;/span&gt; In this episode, we explore the often unexpected ways the opioid crisis is affecting older adults. We&#039;ll dive into why this group is so often overlooked in discussions about dependency and recovery, and examine the unique challenges they face in accessing education and care.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;&gt;Guests:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=15228&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);&quot;&gt;Maryann Mason, PhD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;&gt;,&amp;nbsp; Sociologist and an associate professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-nguyen-uw/?originalSubdomain=ca&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);&quot;&gt;Mary Nguyen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;&gt;, Pharmacist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-liebster-she-her-6170a7229/?trk=public_profile_browsemap&amp;amp;originalSubdomain=ca&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; style=&quot;background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);&quot;&gt;Jessica Liebster&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: transparent;&quot;&gt;, Case Manager at West Neighbourhood House&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Countermeasures

The Data