FAQs Related to Consent
What is an appropriate and effective way to make first contact with a survivor? What is the best way to acquire consent from survivors before conducting outreach? How can outreach workers interact with family members during a visit, while protecting the privacy of the survivor?
The Best Practice Guidance Section 5.3 Protecting Privacy on Outreach Visits recommends:
- To protect the privacy of overdose survivors, post-overdose outreach teams should disclose no information about the overdose survivor if someone other than (or in addition to) the survivor answers the door or the telephone.
- When an explanation for the visit is necessary, the team should state they are doing “public health/community outreach.”
- The outreach team should only disclose information about the overdose survivor to family members, other caregivers, or friends, if they have already contacted and obtained explicit consent from the overdose survivor to do so.
- The outreach team may provide services or referrals to family members if requested by the family member (e.g., naloxone rescue kits, family support resources).
- To protect the privacy of overdose survivors, post-overdose outreach teams should not leave materials, such as naloxone rescue kits or fentanyl test strips, when no contact has been made with the overdose survivor at an attempted in-person visit.
- If a post-overdose outreach program chooses to leave contact information, it should be limited and general, excluding any language about overdose or substance use. For example, business cards could list outreach staff as a “community outreach worker” rather than “overdose prevention specialist.”
Guidance Section Visit Procedures 5.1 Outreach Timing and Methods
Whenever possible, post-overdose outreach staff should attempt to contact an overdose survivor by phone or text to explain their purpose and obtain consent for further outreach before conducting an in-person visit.
When privacy, health, or safety considerations preclude an in-person visit to an overdose survivor’s residence, phone-, video-, or text-based conversations can be alternative ways to provide overdose prevention and engagement support.
- Subsequently mailing or dropping off materials in-person are reasonable alternatives to in-person visits that maintain privacy and confidentiality, provided the overdose survivor has given the post-overdose outreach team explicit consent to do so.
- If a visit to an overdose survivor’s home is not private, not preferred by the survivor, or not feasible for health and/or safety reasons, a meeting should be arranged with the overdose survivor at another location once initial contact is made and consent for an in-person visit is provided.
If privacy, health, or safety concerns are too great for an in-person visit to take place, delaying or foregoing the visit entirely may be necessary.