The construction industry faces significant overdose risks, as workers may experience job-related injuries and seek opioids to manage pain while continuing to work. Concerns about reporting workplace injuries, including potential impacts on a company’s safety record and insurance costs, may lead some workers to seek pain medications outside of traditional medical care. This can increase the risk of encountering pills with unknown and potentially dangerous contents.

To address these risks, the California (San Diego) Overdose Response Strategy (ORS) team partnered with companies that provide construction industry apprenticeships and provided overdose prevention training to several classes as part of their first-aid requirements. The team also participated in the TRADES Expo hosted by the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors Association of San Diego (PHCCSD) at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and appeared on the construction industry podcast, Coastlines to Cranes. These opportunities created multiple avenues to reach workers and other members of the construction industry with information about overdose prevention, naloxone and the risks associated with illicit and counterfeit pills.

Through five trainings, the CA (San Diego) ORS team reached 209 participants and distributed approximately 400 boxes of naloxone through apprenticeship programs, with over 100 additional boxes distributed at the construction expo. These efforts expanded access to naloxone while creating opportunities to reach workers across the construction industry with critical information about overdose prevention and the risks associated with illicit and counterfeit pills.