Impacting the Opioid Crisis: Prevention, Education, and Practice for Non-Prescribing Providers (Coursera)

Impacting the Opioid Crisis: Prevention, Education, and Practice for Non-Prescribing Providers (Coursera)

This course will empower non-prescribing providers to directly impact the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States through increased knowledge and tools that will transform practice and policies. The course will inform you about the opioid epidemic and provide information and research about evidence-based strategies that are focused on prevention, intervention, education, or policy.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This open learning course is designed primarily for non-prescribing healthcare, behavioral health, dental and social services professionals, as well as graduate-level students in these fields. Other individuals may also benefit from this course such as educators and physicians. Continuing Education (CE) for licensure is available upon successful completion of course content.
As a learner, you have the ability to select any or all of the modules and topics that interest you. You can complete the course in a linear or non-linear structure according to your preferred viewing order. This course is taught by experts in the field of opioid prevention, intervention, treatment, and policy. Through lectures, panels and interviews, knowledge checks and quizzes, and additional readings and activities, you can explore topics that are most relevant to your work or practice.
The course was developed by three University of Michigan programs, including the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI), Michigan-Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan OPEN) and the CDC-funded University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center.
The course consists of 6 “lessons” or modules of varying length, for a total commitment of about 15 hours. This translates to 15 CME and Michigan Social work continuing education credits, and 13 Michigan Pharmacy continuing education credits.
The University of Michigan Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. The University of Michigan Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

What You Will Learn

  • Explain the factors that contributed to the current opioid crisis.
  • Understand the pathophysiology of pain and its treatment, including what opioids are and how they work.
  • Understand how to reduce unintended use and misuse of opioids using various strategies, including prescribing guidelines, surveillance, safe disposal of unused opioids, and intervention messaging.
  • Identify what strategies and tools you can employ to impact the safe use of opioids across clinical care settings and with a variety of populations.
  • Describe best practices for assessing and treating opioid use disorder (OUD) and explain the evidence that informs these best practices.
  • Understand different aspects of public policy that can impact the opioid epidemic.

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Epidemiology of the Opioid Crisis
WEEK 2: Understanding Pain
WEEK 3: Prevention of Misuse and Abuse
WEEK 4: Working with Patients and the Public
WEEK 5: Addiction Treatment and Recovery
WEEK 6: Public Policy

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19 (Coursera) Coursera
University of Toronto

Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19 (Coursera)

Never in the history of humanity have so many people been feeling intense anxiety related to COVID-19 and the world it will leave in its wake. The intent of this course is to give you a deeper understanding of the anxiety reaction as it relates to various aspects of our current life, ranging from our consumption of news to the way we talk to our children about this. I will also give you clear strategies for managing and, in fact, turning off the anxiety response at least for short periods.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
PrEParing: PrEP for Providers and Patients (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

PrEParing: PrEP for Providers and Patients (Coursera)

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) using the antiretroviral medication emtricitibine/tenofovir approved in countries around the world is a highly effective means of reducing transmission of HIV through sexual encounters and needle sharing. This Johns Hopkins University course PrEPares you with essential information, concepts and practical advice regarding PrEP from leaders in the field. A first of its kind learning opportunity, both providers and patients learn from the same experts through content that meets the needs of both audiences, while facilitating the opportunity for a shared community space.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Data and Health Indicators in Public Health Practice (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Data and Health Indicators in Public Health Practice (Coursera)

Epidemiology is often described as the cornerstone science in public health. Epidemiology in public health practice uses study design and analyses to identify causes in an outbreak situation, guides interventions to improve population health, and evaluates programs and policies. In this course, we'll define the role of the professional epidemiologist as it relates to public health services, functions, and competencies. With that foundation in mind, we'll introduce you to the problem solving methodology and demonstrate how it can be used in a wide variety of settings to identify problems, propose solutions, and evaluate interventions.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
Ecosystems of California (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Santa Cruz

Ecosystems of California (Coursera)

This course surveys the diversity, structure and functioning of California’s ecosystems through time and the ways they have influenced and responded to human activities and stewardship. Topics include ecosystem drivers such as climate, soils, and land use history; human and ecological prehistory of the state; comparative marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystem dynamics; and managed ecosystems such as range, fisheries and agriculture in California.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong (Coursera)

How can you tell if the bold headlines seen on social media are truly touting the next big thing or if the article isn't worth the paper it's printed on? Understanding Medical Studies, will provide you with the tools and skills you need to critically interpret medical studies, and determine for yourself the difference between good and bad science. The course covers study-design, research methods, and statistical interpretation. It also delves into the dark side of medical research by covering fraud, biases, and common misinterpretations of data. Each lesson will highlight case-studies from real-world journal articles.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Oral Cavity: Portal to Health and Disease (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

The Oral Cavity: Portal to Health and Disease (Coursera)

This course will focus on the interprofessional realtionship of dentistry and medicine. For each session, the medical specialist will present a broad overview of specific disease entity which will be followed by a dental educator discussing the relevant oral manifestations and implications. The final module of each session will be devoted to the interaction between the dental and other health care professionals.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Saúde Baseada em Evidências (Coursera) Coursera
Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP

Saúde Baseada em Evidências (Coursera)

Por que as informações na área da saúde são tão conflitantes? Existe algum lugar em que a informação sobre saúde é confiável? O que devo considerar ao deparar com alguma novidade que parece mágica? Como o sistema de saúde é afetado por essas questões? Essas e outras perguntas nortearam o curso Saúde Baseada em Evidências. Além dessas reflexões, são apontados aspectos sobre o desenvolvimento de pesquisas médicas que fornecem subsídios para uma interpretação mais apurada dos fatos.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management (Coursera)

Learn about the impact of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production by understanding the science of growth, immunity, and infection and by learning the problem-solving skills needed to advance animal health and food production through optimal management practices. In this course we will explore the effect of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production. The content and learning outcomes of this new course will be designed to be relevant across different food production sectors (i.e., beef, dairy, poultry, and pigs).

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Entendiendo la depresión a lo largo del ciclo vital (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad de los Andes

Entendiendo la depresión a lo largo del ciclo vital (Coursera)

En este curso vamos a tratar de eliminar cualquier estigma detrás de la depresión, educar sobre qué es un mito y qué es un hecho en cuanto a esta condición, describir cómo se puede manifestar a lo largo de la vida, sus características cuando aparece simultáneamente con una enfermedad médica y hablaremos de estrategias de tratamiento.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
Acute and Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Comprehensive Review (Coursera) Coursera
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Acute and Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Comprehensive Review (Coursera)

This course is designed to inform primary care physicians and general otolaryngologists about the differences between acute and chronic rhinosinusitis and how to distinguish and treat them. It is also applicable to individuals who wish to broaden their knowledge and vernacular about this disease process, especially those who may suffer from this condition.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Compreendendo o Zika e doenças emergentes (Coursera) Coursera
Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil

Compreendendo o Zika e doenças emergentes (Coursera)

Através deste curso você vai saber porque tantas doenças que surgiram atualmente (doenças emergentes) são causadas por vírus, como elas surgem e se espalham. Veremos como vírus causadores de doenças entram em contato com o ser humano e como se espalham, principalmente aqueles transmitidos por mosquitos, como os vírus da Dengue e Zika.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks