‘It’s the Same Thing as Giving Them CPR Training’: Rural Emergency Responders Perspectives on Naloxone

Most states in the US have implemented Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) that provide legal protections for anyone calling law enforcement and first responders trained to administer naloxone and reverse overdoses. Despite these laws, some bystanders are reluctant to call the authorities, prompting requests to increase naloxone access and administration training among lay persons. This study examines the perceptions of emergency first responders in a frontier and remote (FAR) state to understand their job responsibilities and perceptions of layperson naloxone administration training. This study includes 22 interviews with law enforcement, EMS and/or fire personnel, members of community organizations responsible for responding to opioid overdoses. The study finds widespread support for layperson naloxone training and administration throughout Montana due to rural first responders’ inability to meet the needs of residents and an overall lack of resources to address substance use. This study adds to the literature because of it focuses on first responders in a frontier and remote area (FAR) that would benefit from layperson naloxone education and administration training due to its geographic expansiveness and the area’s overall lack of resources. A harm reduction approach that trains laypeople to administer naloxone might be FAR residents’ best chance for survival after an opioid overdose.