In North America we experience the highest rate of drug related mortality in the world. In the US, overdose is now the leading cause of death among adults under 50. Each day more than 115 people in the United States die due to an opioid overdose. The opioid overdose national crisis is rapidly evolving due to changes in drug availability and the presence of adulterated fentanyl in some areas leading to a critical need for innovative methods to identify opioid overdoses for both surveillance and intervention purposes.

The International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) community comprises a large pool of global expertise. Essential to the ISDS mission of advancing the science and practice of disease surveillance is understanding and setting priorities for research and best practices in public health monitoring. To this end, an ISDS workgroup developed an online survey to identify and prioritize the technical and policy issues of the ISDS community. Through analysis, the Survey will identify respondents' perceptions of opportunities in the area of analytical methodologies.