A Vital Signs report recently released by the CDC includes grim news about the drug overdose spike that occurred in the U.S. in 2020—one that likely continues today.
We already knew the overall overdose rate went up 30 percent that year, but the new report showed how uneven overdose rates were among different demographic groups.
The numbers paint a bleak picture
Key findings from the new CDC report include:
- The overdose rate was 44 percent higher among Black people and 39 percent higher among Native American/Alaskan Native (NA/AN) people than it was for non-Hispanic white people.
- Older Black men (65+) were nearly seven times more likely to overdose than older non-Hispanic white men.
- Young NA/AN women (25-44) were twice as likely to overdose than younger non-Hispanic white women.
- Only 8.3 percent of Black people who overdosed had ever gone to substance use treatment. Note: Prior treatment was rare for all groups, with white people the most likely to have gone at 16.4 percent. Black people were half as likely to have received treatment.
- The greater the income inequality in the counties included in the study, the greater the overdose rate, especially among Black people. In counties with more income inequality, the overdose rate among Black people was twice as high compared to counties with less income inequality.
The realities behind the disparities
The structural and historical factors that help drive the overdose disparities are complex and powerful. The authors of the CDC report made some key points about them. A sampling:
- Less access: Racial and ethnic minority groups historically have less access to proven treatments for substance use disorders.
- More barriers to overcome: There’s more stigmatization regarding substance use disorders among racial and ethnic minority groups.
- Income inequality: This disparity often negatively impacts people from racial and ethnic minority groups to a greater extent. It can lead to less stable housing and less reliable transportation, which make it difficult to access treatment and other support services.
- Lack of health insurance coverage: This is yet another key factor that lowers access to drug treatment among racial and ethnic minorities—and likely increases overdose risk as well. In a recent study of uninsured rates among various demographic groups, Native Americans had the country’s highest uninsured rate in 2019 at 21.7 percent. By comparison, 11.4 percent of Black people and 7.8 percent of white people were uninsured.
What can we do about this
It’s clear there are several key structural issues that are driving the tragic overdose disparity in our racial and ethnic minority populations. These include poverty, systemic racism, homelessness, income inequality, lack of health care coverage, and others. As a society, we must do better in all these areas.
There are real-world fixes that will save lives among all demographic groups. And they are doable.
Bottom line: Drug overdoses are preventable. Here are some ways that providers, policymakers, and communities can help stop them from happening:
- Raise awareness about the dangers of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and using more than one drug.
- Reduce stigma around seeking substance use disorder treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services.
- Improve access and reduce barriers to proven treatment for substance use disorders: for example, suboxone or methadone treatment for opioid use disorder.
- Include culturally tailored traditional practices, spirituality, and religion, when appropriate, with proven substance use disorder treatment.
- Expand community naloxone (Narcan) distribution and education, as well as prescribing and dispensing from pharmacies. We need to distribute naloxone to shelters, interim housing locations, and to people exiting jails.
- Expand education about substance use and risks for overdose to include employers, Medicaid and other insurance payers, and policymakers.
- Increase investment in supportive housing so homeless people and those exiting prison receive SUD treatment services and placement in permanent housing.
- Expand and improve field-based, harm reduction services, with laser focus on reaching the highest risk groups. Proven, life-saving strategies include distribution of naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and syringe service programs.
- Expand the networks that assist people in getting from urgent care clinics and ERs to same-day substance use disorder treatment.
Additional comment on fentanyl: This powerful synthetic that comes in pill form or laced into other drugs has been a prime driver of overdose deaths for several years among all demographic groups.
Final thoughts
Communities and individuals are doing a lot to save lives around the country, but we need to do more.
We have to talk about this overdose epidemic, keep it front and center, acknowledge the very real disparities among racial and ethnic minority groups, but also realize that it’s killing people from all walks of life and every socio-economic sector.
We can’t waver until we beat this crisis.
https://www.tausiinsider.com/drug-overdosing-in-america-a-new-report/?feed_id=415109&_unique_id=6497f1d20e0a8
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