Taking it to the street: Sabina Shah brings overdose prevention education to Allegheny County communities

In 2016, Allegheny County saw 734 overdose deaths, with 602 from opioids. Since then, the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has used CDC grants for addiction treatment and prevention initiatives, including harm reduction and education efforts.

Second-year MPH student Sabina Shah spent the summer with ACHD’s Overdose Prevention Team assessing and updating its materials and getting out into the community to connect people with resources the department offers.

In addition to updating educational materials and brochures, Shah collected community feedback to help tailor ACHD’s programs and initiatives to serve better the communities they serve.



Sabina Shah presents her research poster at the Pittsburgh Summer Institute showcase (Credit: Tina Hershey)

“I worked pop-up events in several communities across the country where we would distribute overdose prevention and harm reduction supplies like Naloxone, drug test strips, CPR face shield masks and other necessities,” she said.

In addition to pop-ups on the North and South Sides and the Hill District, Shah had the chance to hear from the community at big events like Pittsburgh and Millvale Pride, as well as an activation outside the Allegheny County Jail.

“I was able to learn about their previous experiences and provide help if needed,” she said.  Many of the people I talked to shared stories about being in recovery or experiencing homelessness. It was a very meaningful and impactful experience to talk to so many.”  

Shah was one of the nine public health students taking part in the Pittsburgh Summer Institute, a long-standing partnership between the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and ACHD. Now celebrating its 15th year, the 200-hour practicum places students with experienced mentors at the health department, where they contribute to projects addressing community health challenges while exploring careers in governmental public health.

It wasn’t just the opportunity Pitt Public Health set up for Shah to succeed, but the classes she took as well, including Professor Tina Hershey’s “Intro to Health Policy and Management”, which helped her understand current policies around overdose prevention and harm reduction and how they differ across the country. She adds that projects aimed at developing interventions for a specific population in Dr. Thistle Elias’s social and behavioral sciences and public health class were critical in helping her tailor deliverables to the Overdose Prevention Team’s target audience.

As she prepares for her last year, Shah brings a host of real-world experience back to campus.

“This will help me both in class and in my career because through the community outreach I was able to experience and the direct communication I was able to have with people. It taught me how to have difficult conversations as well as talk to individuals where there may be conflict or disagreement and how to meet each other in a conversation,” she said, adding that while developing new handouts and educational materials, training on accessibility is something that will help for whatever comes next.

So what is next? Shah enjoyed the community-based work offered by working with a county organization and would like to take that further and work up to a state-level health department, where more people feel the impacts. “Being able to witness change firsthand has been an important part of my practicum experience, and something I would like to continue,” she said.

 

-Mike Friend

 

 

 

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