NYC public health detailing campaign on cocaine use (Cocaine Action Kit)

Also: Cocaine Action Kit

New York City Health Department campaign of one-to-one educational visits to primary care and other providers, around 2020, on the risks of crack and powder cocaine. Trained detailers handed out a Cocaine Action Kit of provider and patient materials asking clinicians to ask about drug use in neutral, person-first language, talk about heart risks and fentanyl contamination, and offer naloxone. It responded to cocaine overdose deaths more than doubling in the city from 2014 to 2018, with the steepest rise among Bronx residents aged 55-84. Moved to virtual visits during COVID-19.

Years: 2020
Country: United States
Topic: Drugs Harm reduction
Asks people to: Recognize Reduce stigma Talk to someone
Strategy: Academic detailing Stigma reduction
Channel: Clinical setting Direct mail Print
Audience: Clinicians
New York City providers, with materials tailored to each provider's neighborhood and specialty; patient-facing counter-top brochures. An introductory letter from the Deputy Commissioner went out about two weeks before visits.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

The sponsor's epidemiologist reported high provider engagement at follow-up visits and that providers said they had taken up key recommendations; no quantitative results published that we found (NaRCAD interview, January 2021). A 2026 conference abstract describes the virtual pivot during COVID-19 (abstract text not available).

Sponsor (who paid)

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care and Treatment State local government, funder and creator

Credits (who made it)

Not recorded yet.

Related campaigns

NYC public health detailing campaigns on judicious opioid prescribing 2013–now

Sources

Integrating Data Into Action: Addressing Cocaine Use Through Public Health Detailing (NaRCAD interview with Carla Foster, NYC DOHMH, 6 Jan 2021) news · 2021
Innovating during crisis: A virtual public health detailing campaign on cocaine use amid the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (Epidemiology, 2026, conference abstract) evaluation · 2026 · DOI 10.1097/01.ede.0001282924.57629.ca
Cocaine Action Kit (NYC Health, provider resources page) sponsor

Research notes

US-NY (New York City). Clinician-facing campaign. Drafted by Claude (Claude Code) on 2026-10-28 for #130 from the NaRCAD interview (opened) plus search-result text of the NYC Cocaine Action Kit page (404 when fetched; the snippet says the kit is dated 2020 and quotes the recommendations used in the summary); unreviewed, including the cardSummary. startYear 2020 rests on that kit date; end year unknown. Number of visits and practices not found. The 2026 Epidemiology abstract was found in OpenAlex with no abstract text; it may hold reach or outcome figures. Fentanyl contamination is one message among several, so the case sits with stimulants rather than opioids; NYC's fentanyl-in-cocaine bar and nightclub outreach (2018 Lower East Side, 2019 Bushwick) belongs to the opioid work and is not covered here. Check the 2014-2018 doubling (4.7 to 10.7 per 100,000, from the search snippet) and the 52% figure (NaRCAD) before reuse.

Record cases/nyc-public-health-detailing-cocaine.json, updated 2026-10-28· Link to this campaign