Arizona ACEs and Overdose Prevention Funding

ACEs prevention funding - Arizona

ACEs are preventable, potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples include neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, or having a family member attempt or die by suicide.

*ACE statistics are reported by U.S. adults and include exposure to eight types of ACEs: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, witnessing intimate partner violence, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, and incarcerated household member.

Examples of how Arizona is working to prevent ACEs

Surveillance activities

The Arizona Department of Health Services is adding questions about experiencing ACEs to the Arizona Youth Risk Behavior Survey to provide representative state-wide estimates of ACEs for Arizona public high school students.

Other support for ACEs in Arizona

Beyond the ACEs appropriation, CDC supports several initiatives, research, and partnerships to build state and tribal surveillance infrastructure and enhance ACEs prevention and mitigation.

In Arizona, some of those other initiatives include:

• Overdose Data to Action

Overdose prevention funding - Arizona

There were 106,699 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021 (32.4 deaths per 100,000 standard population), a 16% increase from 2020.2

*average award amount

Examples of how Arizona is working to prevent overdose

Expanded naloxone distribution and support

Arizona redesigned its opioid data dashboard to better identify areas that needed additional naloxone distribution and support. This tool improved outreach and education in rural, underserved, and high burden communities about the importance of becoming a naloxone distributor. It also helped staff expedite naloxone shipments by partnering with new naloxone distribution agencies.

Increased overdose training and education

Arizona trained four county health departments on opioid overdose recognition and naloxone distribution. The state provides naloxone administration education materials to these county health departments for their community outreach efforts and will work with them to create county-specific resources such as tailored naloxone administration brochures.

Expansion of hospital access

The University of Arizona Center for Rural Health developed and administered surveys to assess the state's 16 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to inform the implementation of a comprehensive opioid management program. These efforts identified opportunities, gaps, and barriers that helped CAH leadership teams better understand existing opioid prevention and treatment practices to maximize their capacity to prevent and test opioid use disorder.

Culturally responsive education

Combating Overdose through Community-Level Intervention (COCLI) recipient, Amistades Inc., and partners engaged Latino populations by delivering linguistically and culturally appropriate messages, education, and services. For example, the Noche Oscura Overdose Task Force deployed a culturally responsive substance use prevention education program (Thrive)for youth ages 12-19. The Thrive Program, focused on psychostimulant opioids, was delivered in two waves, and evaluation data indicated improved prevention knowledge among middle and high school student participants.