1.  People Who Use Drugs (PWUD)—See Involving PWUD
in the Design of the Model on page 14 of toolkit pdf

 

2. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) data—Frequency
and location of narcotic-related incidents (NRI)

– Strengths—Provides quantitative and geospatial
presentation of data; data updated frequently;
allows for quantification of resources allocated
to address overdose epidemic; sometimes
differentiates overdoses that occur in a residential
setting versus a “public” setting (e.g. street,
shelter, public restroom, etc.), which allows mobile
programs to prioritize highly vulnerable populations

– Weaknesses—Incidents captured only if someone
called 911 (data incomplete); categorization of
incident as an NRI made by paramedics, often
with incomplete information (some incidents
may be misclassified); data may not be readily
accessible and often has delayed release and
presented in aggregate form; privacy concerns
may limit access to such data; demographic
information not always captured

 

3.  Data/Metrics from local syringe service program
(SSP)—SSPs often have information on population
needs, service utilization and health indicators
such as overdose history and naloxone rescues
from participants

– Strengths—Demonstrate service needs
and utilization in high-risk population; often
trusted resource for PWUD with unique
and invaluable insights

– Weaknesses—Not all regions have nearby
SSPs; SSPs may be under-resourced and have
difficulty managing data requests; maintaining
confidentiality is crucial and could complicate
sharing of some data

 

4. 3-1-1 data—Municipal areas that track nonemergency constituent requests may capture
indicators of high-risk activity or populations. Useful
indicators may include (1) reports of improperly
discarded syringes, or (2) homeless encampments

– Strengths—3-1-1 data are often public; may
reveal trends traditional data sources miss; data
updated frequently

 

– Weaknesses—Less-established or utilized
3-1-1 systems may have few data points; 3-1-1
systems may not be designed for data extraction;
neighborhoods more likely to report incidents may
not align with the neighborhood who experience
the highest number of incidents

 

5. Death data—Frequency and location of deaths where

overdose was the cause 

– Strengths—Robust dataset with a lot of information 

– Weaknesses—Typically very delayed data source,
data may be months/years old; privacy concerns
may limit access to such data