Guide to Implementing the Communities That HEAL (CTH) Intervention

The Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention is a multi-phased approach that uses data and leverages community partnerships to help inform decision-making and support the uptake of evidence-based strategies to reduce overdose deaths. The CTH was created by a team of opioid-overdose reduction experts from academic and medical institutions in the four states where the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) took place: Ohio, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and New York.

As part of the CTH, researchers collaborated with community coalitions to develop the Opioid-Overdose Continuum of Care Approach (ORCCA)—a framework to help communities select and implement effective practices best suited to their needs. The ORCCA menu includes strategies proven to reduce overdoses, such as opioid education and naloxone distribution (OEND), medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and safer opioid prescribing and dispensing practices.

HCS has developed a new resource that breaks down each phase of the CTH program for potential adopters into seven manageable “Road Maps.” The Road Maps serve as a step-by-step guidebook for implementing activities in each phase.

Road Maps include:

• Phase 0: Preparation

• Phase 1: Getting Started

• Phase 2: Getting Organized

• Phase 3: Community Profiles and Data Dashboards

• Phase 4: Community Action Planning

• Phase 5: Implement and Monitor

• Phase 6: Sustainability Planning

  
  

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