Overdose Fatalities at Worksites and Opioid Use in the Construction Industry

Details

• Alternative Title:
  CPWR Quarterly Data Report: Fourth Quarter 2019: Overdose Fatalities at Worksites and Opioid Use in the Construction Industry
• Personal Author:
  Brooks, Raina D. ; Cain, Chris T. ; Dong, Xiuwen S.
• Corporate Authors:
  CPWR--The Center for Construction Research and Training ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Construction workers are among the segments of the U.S. population opioids have hit hardest. Recent state-level studies of opioid overdose deaths show that construction workers are six to seven times more likely to die of an overdose than workers in other professions. The impact of opioids to our field led us to make it the focus of this Quarterly Data Report. Section 1 examines a small subset of construction workers who died of an overdose: those who died on a worksite. These are figures for which we have national data, but there is not equivalent national data yet about how many of the 130 Americans who die each day from an opioid overdose work in construction. This report also reveals other gaps in our understanding of the impact of opioids on construction workers. For example, Section 2 contains the surprising finding that the percentage of construction workers who used prescribed opioids, on average, is slightly lower than workers in all industries combined. Our assumption before conducting this analysis was the reverse, given that construction has one of the highest injury rates of all industries, particularly musculoskeletal disorders that often result in chronic pain and long-term pain management. One possible explanation for this counter-intuitive finding: construction workers are less likely to have health insurance than workers in other major industry sectors, and so they may be less likely to receive a prescription for opioids than workers in other sectors. While the impact of opioids on the construction industry and its workers is becoming clearer, there remains much we need to learn to understand and respond to the damage they are causing. We look forward to receiving your feedback on this important report and working collectively to minimize the impact opioids are having on workers, their families, the industry, and society overall. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Biopharmaceutics Construction Industry Demography Hazardous Substances Mortality Occupational Health Safety Substance-Related Disorders Workplace
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Construction Construction Industry Construction Workers Demographic Characteristics Drug Abuse Drugs Fatalities Hazardous Drugs Heroin Injuries Occupations Pain Tolerance Pharmaceuticals Prescription Drugs Safety Research Statistical Analysis Surveillance Work Environment

  More +
• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Subseries:
  CPWR Quarterly Data Report
• Publisher:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  26 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058558
• Citation:
  CPWR Quarterly Data Report. Silver Spring, MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 2020 Jan; :1-26
• Email:
  SDong@cpwr.com
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20090901
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2f70c25b8ae5caa6c585bd7e88df78487d093dbfb724b6dbaae30d5b2fb1098f8401cd5bd7f4e3baf0663662e777f926d4329500ea6e3b5368953485b4617de7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/85344/cdc_85344_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.09 MB ]