Just 14% of College Students Know How to Use Naloxone to Reverse Fentanyl Overdose

A new survey finds just 14% of college students are familiar with how to use naloxone to reverse a fentanyl overdose.

Many of the students surveyed reported a high willingness to intervene during an overdose, but only a small proportion knew how to administer naloxone, which is an opioid overdose antidote, HealthDay reports.

The Boston University researchers noted that overdose deaths involving fentanyl tripled among teens between 2019 and 2021 despite stable substance use rates in this age group. They said that about one-third of teens and young adults know someone who has experienced an overdose.

They surveyed more than 7,000 college students on whether they could spot an overdose, whether they would be willing to intervene in such situations and whether they knew how to administer naloxone. They found that 62% of students could spot at least one sign that an overdose was occurring, while 67% felt comfortable calling emergency services during an overdose event. But just 14% said they knew how to administer naloxone.

The researchers said more should be done to make naloxone training available to young people.