Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Opioid Overdose Deaths: a Spatiotemporal Analysis. J Urban Health 2022 Apr;99(2):316-327
Date
02/20/2022Pubmed ID
35181834Pubmed Central ID
PMC8856931DOI
10.1007/s11524-022-00610-0Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85124732701 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 47 CitationsAbstract
The effects of the opioid crisis have varied across diverse and socioeconomically defined urban communities, due in part to widening health disparities. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with a spike in drug overdose deaths in the USA. However, the extent to which the impact of the pandemic on overdose deaths has varied across different demographics in urban neighborhoods is unclear. We examine the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on opioid overdose deaths through spatiotemporal analysis techniques. Using Milwaukee County, Wisconsin as a study site, we used georeferenced opioid overdose data to examine the locational and demographic differences in overdose deaths over time (2017-2020). We find that the pandemic significantly increased the monthly overdose deaths. The worst effects were seen in the poor, urban neighborhoods, affecting Black and Hispanic communities. However, more affluent, suburban White communities also experienced a rise in overdose deaths. A better understanding of contributing factors is needed to guide interventions at the local, regional, and national scales.
Author List
Ghose R, Forati AM, Mantsch JRAuthor
John Mantsch PhD Chair, Professor in the Pharmacology and Toxicology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Analgesics, OpioidDrug Overdose
Humans
Pandemics
Spatio-Temporal Analysis
