Plan Overview

Prior to developing any kind of overdose anomaly surveillance protocol, it is good to understand the circumstances likely to result in an overdose event in a given jurisdiction. For instance, certain seasonal characteristics or regional events may prove to be risk factors for overdose events. Understanding these circumstances and the specific types of substances likely to be involved in overdose events builds a clearer picture of key risk factors and populations most likely to be at risk of experiencing an overdose event. This jurisdictional picture and clearer understanding of risk factors will inform the development of overdose event case definitions.