HRSA Study: Opioid Epidemic in the United States: Empirical Trends, and A Literature Review of Social Determinants and Epidemiological, Pain Management, and Treatment Patterns

• HRSA study analyzed recent empirical trends in U.S. drug overdose mortality by key social determinants, followed by a comprehensive review of the recent literature on the magnitude of the opioid crisis facing different racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and rural-urban segments.
• Shows increases in drug overdose mortality among all sociodemographic groups, with adolescents and young adults experiencing steep increases in mortality between 1999 and 2017
• Factors other than increased opioid supply- lack of education and economic opportunities, poor working conditions, and low social capital in disadvantaged communities.
• Healthcare systems, community leaders, and policymakers addressing the opioid epidemic should focus on upstream structural factors including education, economic opportunity, social cohesion, racial/ethnic disadvantage, geographic isolation, and life satisfaction.

The evidence is here. It has been. Now, what do we DO? 

https://www.aspph.org/hrsa-study-opioid-epidemic-in-the-united-states-empirical-trends-and-a-literature-review-of-social-determinants-and-epidemiological-pain-management-and-treatment-patterns/