Social Work and the Emerging Opioid Epidemic: A Literature Review

Abstract

This study uses the search terms ‘opiate*’, ‘opioid*’ and ‘fentanyl’ to analyse social work peer-reviewed literature (n = 573) between 1978 and 2017. There is an increasing focus on opioid use within literature during the forty-year period—a knowledge base predominantly outside discipline-specific social work journals—and a high prevalence of research from the USA and the UK. The thematic analysis finds a focus on identifying behaviours and risks associated with opioid use, assessment of opioid use and needs of service users in treatment, and intervention and relapse-prevention practices. There are many sound practice-relevant insights. However, the literature is limited in its ability to assess the needs of individuals not in treatment along with documenting preventative methods for opioid-related overdose. This is a significant omission, warranting further research, given the unknowing nature of opioid use associated with increasing rates of overdose throughout the world.

Opioids, fentanyl, epidemic, addiction, social work, overdose