A Review of the Exhibit Fix: Heartbreak and Hope: Inside Our Opioid Crisis: Finding Common Ground Between Health Promotion and Museum Practice

Abstract

The Indiana State Museum’s Fix: Heartbreak and Hope: Inside Our Opioid Crisis is the first large-scale exhibit dedicated to the opioid epidemic. It involves diverse groups of visitors in learning about the history and science of opioid use disorder, making decisions that will help resolve the opioid crisis, and practicing techniques that for many people are essential to long-term recovery. By reviewing the different components of the exhibit, I show how the exhibit can serve as a basic model for advancing health promotion in museums. The exhibit illuminates the ways interactive health exhibits can engage adult visitors, reduce stigma, provide knowledge that visitors can use to exercise control over their health, and expand awareness of the need for evidence-based approaches to public health crises.