Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0635-6425
Date Available
9-1-2026
Year of Publication
2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
College
Communication and Information Studies
Department/School/Program
Communication
First Advisor
Dr. Donald W. Helme
Abstract
The opioid crisis is a national public health emergency in the United States. Opioid education, naloxone training, and medication for opioid use disorder treatment (MOUD) are evidence-based practices to mitigate opioid overdose. The opioid crisis is affecting people of all ages, including college students. Research indicates the gap in research among college students on how they perceive this public health emergency and how it is affecting them; thus, this dissertation aims to address the gap by examining college students' knowledge, attitude, and behavioral intentions toward opioid education, naloxone training, and referral to MOUD to those struggling with opioid addiction. The objective of this dissertation project is twofold. Study 1, a mixed method quasi-experimental study (N=523), examined the feasibility of video intervention to assess knowledge, attitudes, and stigma among lay college students. Overall, knowledge and attitude improved, and stigma decreased. Further, guided by the theory of planned behavior and norms activation model, participants' awareness of the consequences of overdose risks, ascribed responsibility towards taking action, moral norms, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were measured to predict behavioral intention toward receiving naloxone training and administering it when needed and intention toward making referrals to MOUD someone struggling with opioid addiction.
Second, Study 2 is an in-depth qualitative interview (N=19) conducted among students affected by the opioid crisis. Guided by the socio-ecological model framework, the study sought to understand college students' barriers and motivating factors relating to opioid education, naloxone, and MOUD. College students’ perception of opioid addiction and their perceived role in addressing the crisis are discussed. All participants supported college requiring mandatory opioid education and naloxone training. Findings suggest a considerable knowledge gap about MOUD and recommend intervention strategies at various levels of the ecological model. Recommendations and findings from these studies can be used to guide future intervention studies on how universities should respond to the need for opioid education, naloxone distribution, and medication education.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2024.357
Recommended Citation
Silwal, Anita, "BREAKING THE SILENCE: A MIXED METHODS STUDY ON OPIOID EDUCATION, OVERDOSE RISKS, AND TREATMENT EDUCATION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS" (2024). Theses and Dissertations--Communication. 133.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/comm_etds/133
