The Opioid Crisis

Deaths from opioid overdoses have risen dramatically in the past 20 years. Opioids are drugs like Oxycontin, Percocet, heroin, methadone and fentanyl. Opioids are respiratory depressants - people die during overdoses because they stop breathing.​ The escalating opioid overdose epidemic is one of the most serious public health problems confronting the U.S. Deaths from overdose outnumber deaths from motor vehicle crashes bymore than one and a half times. In response, health policy, legislation, and research funding are increasingly converging in support of the distribution of naloxone, an opioid antagonist, and community-based opioid overdose prevention programs. 

​Naloxone (brand name Narcan) temporarily blocks the effects of opioids in someone who is overdosing. Since the 1990s, community-based programs have trained laypeople on overdose reversal and how to use naloxone. To date, over 150,000 doses of naloxone have been distributed and over 26,000 overdoses have been reversed. For more information about naloxone and how to reverse an opioid overdose, visit the Overdose Resources section.

Nationally

83,140 people in the United States died of an opioid overdose in 2023.

Pennsylvania

There were 3,936 opioid-related overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2023. Overdose death rates are higher in Pennsylvania than the United States. 

Philadelphia

1,078 people died of opioid-involved overdoses in 2023. Opioids were involved in 82% of all fatal overdoses that year.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control, Pennsylvania Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse, Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Project Background and Aims

UnityPhilly is a collaboration and research project to develop and pilot an overdose response app in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a grant to fund this research initiative through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
 
The success of overdose prevention programs is contingent upon the willingness and effectiveness of bystanders to respond to an overdose event and administer naloxone. Using the UnityPhilly app, members can signal that someone is overdosing and others with the app can respond with naloxone.
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To learn more about the research project, visit https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfmaid=9403417&icde=36581593

Welcome to Philadelphia

Philadelphia has been hit particularly hard by the overdose death epidemic. UnityPhilly will be enrolling people who work or live in three areas of Philadelphia with the highest overdose death rates in the city--Kensington, West Philly, and South Philly. Study participants can use the app to save the life of someone who is overdosing. ​

Research Team and Universities

Stephen E. Lankenau, PhD, Principal Investigator
Steve is a professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health. A sociologist by training, Steve applies mixed method approaches to the study of drug use among marginalized populations and associated negative health outcomes, including drug dependence, HIV/HCV, and overdose. Steve is leading the overall participant recruitment and data collection effort on this study.

David Schwartz, PhD, Principal Investigator
David is a professor of Information Systems at the Graduate School of Business at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. A computer scientist by training, he has worked for over 25 years on creating and understanding new uses of advanced information and communication technologies. He started the Emergency Response Communities research project in 2013 and has been working since with medical and sociological teams around the world creating apps that bring people with similar medical conditions to help each other in emergency situations. He is responsible for the overall scientific direction of the study, together with co-PI Steve Lankenau.
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Alexis M. Roth, PhD, MPH, Co-Investigator
Alexis is an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health. A behavioral scientist by training, Alexis’ research has focused, in part, on the use of mobile technology to understand contextual correlates of high-risk drug use events and associated outcomes. On this project, Alexis is contributing to the design and evaluation of data collection instruments.

Gabriela Marcu, PhD, Co-Investigator
Gabriela is an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Information. Her expertise is in human-computer interaction, with a focus on designing mobile applications for behavioral and mental health. In her research she works together with communities to explore how technology and information can empower individuals and strengthen social ties. Gabriela is responsible for advising on technology adoption, and for qualitative data analysis to understand the social impact of the mobile application.

Janna Ataiants, DrPH, Postdoctoral Fellow
Janna is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health.  She is assisting with data management, recruitment, and project coordination.  Her research focuses on women who use street drugs.

Ben Cocchiaro, MD, MPH, (Medical Consultant)
Ben is a family physician and Adjunct Fellow with the University of Pennsylvania Center for Public Health Initiatives. He studies the physiological effects of opioid overdose within a sociorelational context.