UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging Hosts Drug Takeback Day
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging hosted a Drug Takeback Day on April 25, inviting patients and employees to safely discard unused medications and learn about the dangers of opioid abuse.
Throughout the day, people stopped by the Institute on Aging’s lobby to deposit bottles of medication into a locked container. Officers from the UAMS Police Department later emptied the container, putting the drugs into plastic bags and taking them away for disposal.
Nearby, staff members from the institute set up an information booth and disseminated educational material about opioid abuse and some integrative therapies that provide an alternative for managing pain. They also distributed dozens of drug disposal pouches, which neutralize the ingredients in prescription medications, as well as naloxone kits that reverse the effects of opioid overdoses.
The effort was organized by the Institute on Aging’s Opioid Prevention for Aging & Longevity (OPAL) Program, an educational initiative that raises awareness of opioid use disorders among older adults. The program, part of a State Opioid Response award from the federal government, is led by Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Geriatrics and executive director of the Institute on Aging.
Randy Henderson (from left), clinical research associate in the Department of Geriatrics; Regina Gibson, program manager for the OPAL Program; Pankaj Patyal, a postdoctoral fellow; Alice Fulk, chief of the UAMS Police Department; and Sgt. William Brents of the police department pose for a group photo during the event.
Regina Gibson, Ph.D., RN, assistant professor in the Department of Geriatrics and program manager for the OPAL Program, said older adults are disproportionately affected by the nation’s opioid epidemic.
“For this population, opioids can offer temporary relief from chronic pain, but they also carry significant potential dangers such as addiction, memory disorders, breathing difficulties, an increased risk of falls and overdose fatalities,” she said.
The information table included several booklets about the effects that opioids have on the body. People 60 and older are especially susceptible to side effects such as sleepiness, confusion, slowed heart rate and loss of consciousness. In addition, patients who take multiple medications often aren’t aware of how opioids can interact with those drugs, which can cause further complications, Gibson said.
Other educational materials focused on integrative therapies such as meditation, Tai Chi and yoga. These therapies, which are often employed in combination with nonopioid pain medicines, help patients strengthen muscles, improve flexibility and reduce stress.
The table also featured a stack of coloring and puzzle books. Gibson said the books serve as a welcome distraction for those who want to relax and take their mind off their chronic pain.
“These books have been a hit with older adults and their caregivers,” she said.
Since the program’s inception in 2018, the OPAL outreach team led by Naomi Armstrong, RN, nurse educator in the Department of Geriatrics, has traveled across all 75 counties of the state to provide education not only to older adults but also to organizations such as community health centers, churches and senior living facilities. The program has distributed thousands of naloxone kits and has trained hundreds of health care providers on how to administer the life-saving treatments.
“If you’ve ever used any type of opioid medication, you know that sometimes you forget when you last took it — which raises your risk of taking too much,” Gibson said. “This kit is a valuable resource to prevent overdose deaths.”
Gohar Azhar, M.D., vice chair of clinical aging research for the Institute on Aging and a founding member of the OPAL Program, said Arkansas has seen the benefits of an increased awareness about the dangers of opioid abuse.
“These extensive educational efforts for the public as well as for health care providers have contributed to the significant reduction of opioid prescribing that we’ve seen in the state over the past few years,” she said.
The state’s opioid dispensing rate declined from 93.2 prescriptions per 100 people in 2019 to 78.5 per 100 people in 2023, according to the Arkansas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which is operated by the Arkansas Department of Health.
However, Azhar and Gibson noted that Arkansas continues to have one of the highest dispensing rates in the United States — one that is significantly higher than the national average of 37.5 opioid prescriptions per 100 people.
“Although we have come a long way, we still have much more to do in educating older adults and health care professionals,” Gibson said.
The Institute on Aging hosts two drug takeback events each year. The drug disposal container in the lobby is available year-round for those who would like to drop off their expired or unused medications.