2022 - 2024 | Rhode Island Department of Health
Small Amount: Employing rapid-response tactics to reduce overdoses
Rhode Island has been severely impacted by the opioid epidemic, with an overdose death rate consistently among the highest in the nation. In 2022, 436 Rhode Islanders lost their lives to overdose, with 72% of these deaths involving fentanyl. The “Small Amount” campaign was created to raise awareness about the lethal risk of even a small amount of fentanyl.
In 2022, Reach was contracted to continue the “Small Amount” campaign, implementing a multi-phase media strategy that included social media ads, billboards, and bus shelter ads. Reach introduced a targeted text message pilot program, sending alerts to individuals in areas experiencing a significant spike in overdoses, known as ROAAR (Rhode Island Overdose Action Area Response) events. These texts warned of increased overdose risks and included links to order free Naloxone kits.
Campaign Impact:
From February to July 2023, 260,233 text messages were sent in response to seven ROAAR events.
These texts resulted in 5,720 clicks on the link to order Naloxone and received 2,449 responses, yielding a total engagement of 8,169 interactions.
The texts contributed to over 700 Naloxone requests, with significant increases in areas like North Kingstown (from 1 to 50 requests) and Woonsocket (from 0 to 18 requests).
The Woonsocket ROAAR text achieved the highest engagement rate at 8.44%.