The PROMISE Initiative
The United States, including Mississippi, is in the midst of a prescription opioid epidemic. Approximately 130 people die every day from an opioid overdose. The PROMISE Initiative, PReventing Opioid Misuse In the SouthEast, is fighting the opioid epidemic using a multi-phased approach to preventing prescription opioid misuse in rural Mississippi.
PROMISE Initiative activities include these:
- Community engagement forums assessing the region’s perceived needs and readiness for education about opioid misuse.
- Extension education, agent-led and peer-to-peer, increasing residents’ knowledge about proper opioid use.
- Media campaign encouraging proper opioid use.
- Placement of prescription drug take-back boxes throughout the state.
- Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid training.
To promote proper use and disposal of prescription opioids in Mississippi, information was gathered from community members, both in-person and through surveys, to develop and implement a social marketing campaign. The community-based research is also being incorporated into Mississippi State University Extension Service educational materials that encourage proper use and disposal of prescription opioids.
This project is supported by the FY17 USDA NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant # 2017-46100-27225 and the FY18 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Rural Opioids Technical Assistance Grants (ROTA) # TI-18-022.
Publications
News
The Mississippi State University Extension Service is doing what it can to make sure everyone in the state’s agricultural community knows there is help available when the stress of life seems unrelenting.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The teen years have challenged every generation, but resources and concerned adults are available to help today’s young people avoid dangers, including suicide.
Most Mississippians think of drug addiction as an issue other people face in faraway places, but the source of this problem could be as close as the family medicine cabinet.
2019 has been an extraordinarily bad year for agriculture, and the extra mental stress it has placed on producers sends many of them looking for relief, not always in good ways.
Between her job and her home, Tracey Porter has not had a break from dealing with flooding in the last six months.
Porter is the deputy director of the Warren County Emergency Management Agency, and her husband, Rodney, farms in the southern Mississippi Delta. Excessive rain last winter and spring kept 250,000 acres of farmland out of production this year. During the time when he would normally prepare for planting season, Rodney Porter was building sandbag levees to protect flood waters from invading their home. She helped him when she was not on the clock assisting other affected people in her community.
Success Stories
In this "What's New in Extension," Extension agents implement better safety standards, train to deliver Mental Health First Aid, and receive national recognition. Also, new irrigation and specialists join the Extension family.
