Cooperative Extension's Role in Addressing the Opioid Overdose Crisis: Best Practices from the HEART Initiative Model

Cooperative Extension is in a unique position to address health and wellness concerns across the country, particularly in rural areas with local Extension services. One innovative model, the Health Extension: Advocacy, Research, and Teaching (HEART) Initiative, unites Extension, community organizations, and community members in collaborative activities to address the complex, multifaceted components of substance use disorder. The model utilized a multidisciplinary team and community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach with evidence-based practices to increase Extension's abilities to guide and tailor programming to local needs and to create significant impacts. Cooperative Extension's long history of engagement in the community, with state and federal linkages, creates a trusted source for partnering on behavioral health crises. This multidisciplinary team model increased Cooperative Extension's scope and capacity to respond to substance-related disorders and can be replicated in other areas.