Inova Health on Wednesday released new data finding nearly half of adults in Northern Virginia are either personally impacted by substance use or know someone who is, with even higher numbers among millennials.
The survey data is part of Inova’s Act on Addiction Campaign, which aims to spark dialogue around the realities of substance use, promote harm reduction and prevention strategies, reduce stigma and highlight the impact addiction has on families and communities, according to a news release.
“We know that stigma has deleterious effects on patients actually seeking care, and then it also has an impact on the quality of care that people receive,” Dr. Zeina Saliba with Inova told InsideNoVa. “People have a lot of different opinions and different motivations for making their decisions. We need to continue to have conversations with people around their own value systems and how they interface with the health care system. I view this as our responsibility to make systems more accessible for patients and for their families in terms of harm reduction.”
The program, now in its seventh year, comes at an inflection point for the local community and the nation overall. According to Virginia Department of Health data, overdose deaths declined by 43% in 2024, earning Virginia recognition as the second-leading state nationwide in overdose death reduction.
This suggests that harm reduction strategies – such as widespread naloxone, or Narcan, distribution and training, public education campaigns on fentanyl awareness, fentanyl strips, stigma reduction efforts and targeted law enforcement actions to disrupt the fentanyl supply – may be making an impact.
“The decline in overdose deaths across Virginia is a hopeful sign that harm reduction strategies are making a real difference,” Marquitta Duvernay, senior director of ambulatory CATS and Recovery Services for Inova Health System, said in the release. “But we know the crisis isn’t over. That’s why promoting these strategies and making sure every Northern Virginian understands their value remains a top priority for Inova.”
While recent data offers hope that prevention and education efforts are making a difference, survey findings show there is still an opportunity to address the opioid and overdose epidemic in the community. Notably, 53% of respondents report never having heard the term “harm reduction.” When asked about harm reduction strategies, nearly one-third of respondents expressed concern these approaches make substance use seem less risky, encourage drug experimentation and ultimately make it harder for individuals to quit.
The survey found 75% of respondents thought people may not seek care because they believe they can manage substance use on their own. 74% pointed to the fear of people knowing or stigma as a major deterrent in why they think people don’t seek care for substance use.
First launched in 2019, the Act on Addiction campaign was created as part of a $16 million gift from the Hitt family to the Inova Health Foundation to provide more resources for people dealing with addiction and to drive a community dialogue around the issue within the Northern Virginia area.
“The survey shows that while Northern Virginians are becoming more aware, there’s still a long way to go to truly protect our communities,” Tracy Hitt Millar, daughter of Joan and Russell Hitt, said in the release. “It’s an honor to partner with Inova and support the Act on Addiction campaign again to try and help break the stigma, raise awareness and ensure more people have access to the resources they need.”
This year’s campaign aims to equip families, friends and community members with resources to offer support to those they know who are experiencing addiction.
To further raise awareness and provide resources on substance use, Inova will host two events at the Inova Center for Personalized Health at 8100 Innovation Park Drive in Fairfax:
- Act on Addiction: Hope in Connection will take place on Sept. 29 from 6-8 p.m.
- From Policy to Practice: Advancing Harm Reduction in Community Care will take place Oct. 1 from 2-5 p.m.
More information can be found at ActOnAddictionNow.org.
This article was written by FFXnow’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
