The University of Toledo is striving to decrease preventable deaths caused by opioid overdoses throughout the nation. Tapping our resources in psychology, medicine, engineering and additional health professions in tandem with a collaborative national network, UT researchers, faculty and students aim to provide a comprehensive approach based on three tenets: outreach, research and treatment.
Nearly 2 million Americans were dependent on or abused prescription opioids in 2014.*
More than 1,000 people are treated in emergency centers daily for misusing prescription opioids.*
In 2014, nearly 80% of drug overdose fatalities in Ohio were caused by opioids.**
In 2003, there were 296 opioid overdoses in Ohio. In 2014, that number rose to a staggering 2,020 deaths. Opioids overdoses increased exponentially during that 11-year span. **
Prescription opioids accounted for 46.2% of drug overdoses deaths in 2014, while heroin cuased 47.3% of drug overdose deaths in 2014.**
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017. **Ohio Department of Health, 2015