Narrowing of the Racial Gap In Opioid-Involved Deaths: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice

Abstract

Objectives: Opioid overdose death rates in the United States has been increasing over the past several years. This increasing trend has been seen in states across the country. Previous studies have highlighted that opioid-involved deaths have occurred mostly in non-Hispanic Whites. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare opioid deaths death trends in U.S. to a state, Louisiana, (2) compare opioid death trends in Louisiana urban and suburban areas, and (3) evaluate changes in the overall trends, as well as across race and gender, that may affect public health policy and practice. Methods: Data were abstracted from secondary data sources, including the Louisiana Opioid Data and Surveillance System. Trends in opioid-involved deaths, drug-induced deaths, and opioid prescription by prescriber location were determined in the U.S. and Louisiana. Results: The increasing trends in age-adjusted rate of opioid involved deaths in Louisiana has mimicked what has occurred in the United States. The crude rates of drug-induced deaths in the U.S. and Louisiana exhibited an increasing trend. However, the trend in opioid prescriptions had a decreasing trend. The crude rates were higher in non-Hispanic Whites, as well as in males. This trend is changing with the gap between opioid-involved deaths among non- Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks narrowing, as well as between males and females. Conclusions: The study confirmed that the opioid epidemic in the U.S. is also occurring in Louisiana. The changing trends in the rate of opioid-involved deaths indicate an arrowing of the gap between non- Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks, and males and females, and that public health practice and health policy must address the future needs to mitigate the opioid epidemic.