Employment industry and opioid overdose risk: A pre- and post-COVID-19 comparison in Kentucky and Massachusetts 2018-2021.
Sumeeta Srinivasan, Shikhar Shrestha, Daniel R Harris, Olivia Lewis, Peter Rock, Anita Silwal, Jennifer Pustz, Sehun Oh, Gia Barboza-Salerno, Thomas J Stopka
Author Information
Sumeeta Srinivasan: Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, 503 Boston Ave, Medford MA 02155, USA. Electronic address: sumeeta.srinivasan@tufts.edu.
Shikhar Shrestha: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Electronic address: shikhar.shrestha@tufts.edu.
Daniel R Harris: College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 S Limestone, Lexington, KY 40508, USA. Electronic address: daniel.harris@uky.edu.
Olivia Lewis: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Electronic address: olivia.lewis@tufts.edu.
Peter Rock: Substance Use Priority Research Area, Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. Electronic address: peter.rock@uky.edu.
Anita Silwal: Community Health Sciences, Counseling & Counseling Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 441 Willard Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. Electronic address: anita.silwal@okstate.edu.
Jennifer Pustz: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Electronic address: jennifer.pustz@tufts.edu.
Sehun Oh: College of Social Work, Ohio State University, 1947 College Rd N, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: oh.570@osu.edu.
Gia Barboza-Salerno: College of Social Work, Ohio State University, 1947 College Rd N, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: barboza-salerno.1@osu.edu.
Thomas J Stopka: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Electronic address: thomas.stopka@tufts.edu.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the risk of opioid-related harm, and previous studies suggest a connection between opioid overdose risk and industry of employment. We used descriptive and spatial-statistical tests with opioid overdose data from the vital records offices of Kentucky and Massachusetts to examine opioid overdose rates by employment industry before and after COVID-19 emergency declarations. Both states had consistently high rates of opioid-related overdose mortality for individuals employed in the construction and arts, recreation, food services, and accommodation service industries. Additionally in both states, census tracts with a high percentage of renters and non-Hispanic Black residents were more likely to be located in fatal opioid-related overdose hotspots following the initial surge of COVID-19 cases. In Kentucky, census tracts with higher percentages of employment in the transportation and other services were more likely to be located in an overdose hotspot before and after the COVID-19 emergency declaration, while in Massachusetts the same was true for census tracts with high employment in manufacturing, agriculture, forest, and fisheries, and hunting.
