Why Providers Play a Key Role

Healthcare providers are often one of the first and most trusted points of contact for families when it comes to children’s health and safety. Pediatricians, family medicine providers, and other clinicians regularly interact with parents during well-child visits, sports physicals, and routine appointments in return making these settings an ideal opportunity for early, preventive education.

Because parents already look to providers for guidance, information shared in healthcare settings is more likely to be:

  • Trusted

  • Remembered

  • Acted upon

This strategy builds on that trust to support safer medication practices in the home.

What This Strategy Focuses On

The Providers Educating Parents strategy supports healthcare settings in sharing consistent, clear, and prevention-focused information with parents and caregivers related to prescription opioid safety.

Rather than asking providers to take on additional clinical responsibilities, we offer ready-to-use tools that make education simple, efficient, and aligned with existing workflows.

Tools We Provide

To support providers in these conversations, we developed:

Parent Guide Handbook

A parent-friendly resource that providers can share with families, covering:

  • What prescription opioids are and why they carry risk

  • The importance of safe storage and locking medications

  • How to safely dispose of unused medications

  • Why sharing prescription medications can be dangerous

  • How to talk with youth about medication safety

Provider Guide

A companion guide designed for healthcare professionals that:

  • Highlights key prevention talking points

  • Supports brief, meaningful conversations during visits

  • Reinforces consistent messaging across clinics and providers

These tools are designed to be:

  • Easy to distribute

  • Appropriate for pediatric and family medicine settings

  • Supportive of time-limited appointments

Why This Approach Matters

Many families first encounter prescription pain medications through medical care—whether for injuries, dental procedures, or surgeries. By reaching parents early and consistently through providers, this strategy helps:

  • Reduce unintentional access to medications in the home

  • Normalize safe storage and disposal practices

  • Reinforce prevention messages families may also receive in the community

  • Support long-term behavior change through trusted messengers

This approach strengthens prevention efforts already happening in the community by ensuring families hear the same safety messages across multiple settings.

Partnering With Providers

We collaborate with clinics and healthcare partners across Bernalillo County to:

  • Share parent and provider guides

  • Support integration of prevention materials into routine care

  • Align provider-based education with broader community prevention strategies

 

Interested in partnering or requesting materials for your clinic?
Contact our prevention team to learn more.