Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40459670›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2025

The effect of take-home naloxone kits on opioid-related deaths in Alberta, Canada: An ecological analysis.

Eldon Spackman, Shainur Premji, Amy Woroniuk, Eddy Lang, Katrina Milaney, Kerry McBrien

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Responding to the toxic drug crisis: Promising innovations, gaps, and calls to action.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Eldon SpackmanCommunity Health Sciences and O'Brien Institute of Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. eldon.spackman@ucalgary.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-8558-5973
Shainur PremjiCentre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.
Amy WoroniukAlberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Eddy LangDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Katrina MilaneyCommunity Health Sciences and O'Brien Institute of Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Kerry McBrienDepartment of Family Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences, O'Brien Institute of Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Funding

CIHR 162066
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo estimate the association between publicly provided take-home naloxone kits and opioid-related deaths.

methodsWe analyzed 2732 opioid-related deaths and the distribution of 147,814 naloxone kits between January 2015 and June 2019 across five health zones in Alberta, Canada. We used a Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood regression model with fixed effects to estimate the association between the number of kits in circulation and the number of monthly opioid-related deaths, controlling for population demographics, socio-economic indicators, other harm reduction strategies, police seizures of fentanyl and carfentanil, and an estimate of awareness.

resultsEvery 10,000 kits in circulation was associated with a 23.9% (95% confidence interval (CI), 12.6-33.7) reduction in opioid-related deaths. Marginal analysis suggests that if no kits had been distributed, Alberta would have had 3548 deaths (95% CI, 2264-4831), 816 more deaths than were recorded during this 4.5-year period. If during this time 200,000 kits were consistently in circulation, Alberta would have had an estimated 1587 deaths (95% CI, 705-2468), 1145 fewer deaths than recorded.

conclusionThis analysis provides evidence that the availability of naloxone kits is associated with a reduction in opioid-related deaths and suggests that a publicly funded program that allows the distribution of naloxone kits to all who request them reduces mortality.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidDrug OverdoseNaloxoneNarcotic AntagonistsOpiate OverdoseOpioid-Related DisordersAdultAlbertaFemaleHarm ReductionHumansMaleAnalgesics, OpioidNaloxoneNarcotic AntagonistsAdministrative dataCommunity-based programNaloxoneOpioid-related death

Identifiers

PMID40459670
PMCPMC12629546

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.