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Evaluating equity in community-based naloxone access among racial/ethnic groups in Massachusetts
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12 01 2022
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Source: Drug Alcohol Depend. 241:109668
[PDF-572.02 KB]
Details:
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Alternative Title:Drug Alcohol Depend
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Personal Author:
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Description:Background:
Racial/ethnic minorities have experienced disproportionate opioid-related overdose death rates in recent years. In this context, we examined inequities in community-based naloxone access across racial/ethnic groups in Massachusetts.
Methods:
We used data from: the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs; the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on opioid-related overdose deaths, and; the United States Census American Community Survey for regional demographic/socioeconomic details to estimate community populations by race/ethnicity and racial segregation between African American/Black and white residents. Race/ethnicity groups included in the analysis were African American/Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, white (non-Hispanic), and “other” (non-Hispanic). We evaluated racial/ethnic differences in naloxone distribution across regions in Massachusetts and neighborhoods in Boston descriptively and spatially, plotting the race/ethnicity-specific number of kits per opioid-related overdose death per jurisdiction. Lastly, we constructed generalized estimating equations models with a negative binomial distribution to compare the race/ethnicity-specific naloxone distribution rate by OEND programs.
Results:
From 2016–2019, the median annual rate of naloxone kits received from OEND programs in Massachusetts per racial/ethnicity group ranged between 160–447 per 100,000. In a multivariable analysis, we found that the naloxone distribution rates for racial/ethnic minorities were lower than the rate for white residents. We also found naloxone was more likely to be distributed in racially segregated communities than non-segregated communities.
Conclusion:
We identified racial/ethnic inequities in naloxone receipt by individuals in Massachusetts. Additional resources focused on designing and implementing OEND programs for racial/ethnic minorities are warranted to ensure equitable access to naloxone.
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Pubmed ID:36309001
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC9833886
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