Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana
The effect of disaster events on increasing drug-involved deaths has been clearly shown in previous literature. As the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders throughout the United States, there was a simultaneous spike in drug-involved deaths around the country. The landscape of a preexisting...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1117841/full |
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| author | Maxwell M. Leonhardt John R. Spartz Arti Shankar Stephen A. Murphy |
| author_facet | Maxwell M. Leonhardt John R. Spartz Arti Shankar Stephen A. Murphy |
| author_sort | Maxwell M. Leonhardt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The effect of disaster events on increasing drug-involved deaths has been clearly shown in previous literature. As the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders throughout the United States, there was a simultaneous spike in drug-involved deaths around the country. The landscape of a preexisting epidemic of drug-involved deaths in the United States is one which is not geographically homogenous. Given this unequal distribution of mortality, state-specific analysis of changing trends in drug use and drug-involved deaths is vital to inform both care for people who use drugs and local policy. An analysis of public health surveillance data from the state of Louisiana, both before and after the initial stay-at-home order of the COVID-19 pandemic, was used to determine the effect the pandemic may have had on the drug-involved deaths within this state. Using the linear regression analysis of total drug-involved deaths, as well as drug-specific subgroups, trends were measured based on quarterly (Qly) deaths. With the initial stay-at-home order as the change point, trends measured through quarter 1 (Q1) of 2020 were compared to trends measured from quarter 2 (Q2) of 2020 through quarter 3 (Q3) of 2021. The significantly increased rate of change in Qly drug-involved deaths, synthetic opioid-involved deaths, stimulant-involved deaths, and psychostimulant-involved deaths indicates a long-term change following the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in the delivery of mental health services, harm reduction services, medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), treatment services, withdrawal management services, addiction counseling, shelters, housing, and food supplies further limited drug-involved prevention support, all of which were exacerbated by the new stress of living in a pandemic and economic uncertainty. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:42:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa1094f68955464c836ef49de38a14d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:42:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa1094f68955464c836ef49de38a14d92023-04-11T04:41:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-04-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.11178411117841Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in LouisianaMaxwell M. Leonhardt0John R. Spartz1Arti Shankar2Stephen A. Murphy3Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United StatesEnvironmental Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United StatesDepartment of Biostatistics and Data Science, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United StatesEnvironmental Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United StatesThe effect of disaster events on increasing drug-involved deaths has been clearly shown in previous literature. As the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders throughout the United States, there was a simultaneous spike in drug-involved deaths around the country. The landscape of a preexisting epidemic of drug-involved deaths in the United States is one which is not geographically homogenous. Given this unequal distribution of mortality, state-specific analysis of changing trends in drug use and drug-involved deaths is vital to inform both care for people who use drugs and local policy. An analysis of public health surveillance data from the state of Louisiana, both before and after the initial stay-at-home order of the COVID-19 pandemic, was used to determine the effect the pandemic may have had on the drug-involved deaths within this state. Using the linear regression analysis of total drug-involved deaths, as well as drug-specific subgroups, trends were measured based on quarterly (Qly) deaths. With the initial stay-at-home order as the change point, trends measured through quarter 1 (Q1) of 2020 were compared to trends measured from quarter 2 (Q2) of 2020 through quarter 3 (Q3) of 2021. The significantly increased rate of change in Qly drug-involved deaths, synthetic opioid-involved deaths, stimulant-involved deaths, and psychostimulant-involved deaths indicates a long-term change following the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in the delivery of mental health services, harm reduction services, medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), treatment services, withdrawal management services, addiction counseling, shelters, housing, and food supplies further limited drug-involved prevention support, all of which were exacerbated by the new stress of living in a pandemic and economic uncertainty.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1117841/fulldisaster mental healthoverdose deathCOVID-19opioidfentanylstimulant |
| spellingShingle | Maxwell M. Leonhardt John R. Spartz Arti Shankar Stephen A. Murphy Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana Frontiers in Public Health disaster mental health overdose death COVID-19 opioid fentanyl stimulant |
| title | Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana |
| title_full | Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana |
| title_fullStr | Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana |
| title_short | Fatal drug use in the COVID-19 pandemic response: Changing trends in drug-involved deaths before and after stay-at-home orders in Louisiana |
| title_sort | fatal drug use in the covid 19 pandemic response changing trends in drug involved deaths before and after stay at home orders in louisiana |
| topic | disaster mental health overdose death COVID-19 opioid fentanyl stimulant |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1117841/full |
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