Increasing overdose deaths among Black Americans: a review of the literature.

In 2020, opioid overdose fatalities among Black Americans surpassed those among White Americans for the first time in US history. This Review analyses the academic literature on disparities in overdose deaths to highlight potential factors that could explain these increases in overdose deaths among Black Americans. Overall, we find that differences in structural and social determinants of health; inequality in the access, use, and continuity of substance use disorder and harm reduction services; variability in fentanyl exposure and risk; and changes in social and economic circumstances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are central to explaining this trend.

Association Between Hospital Adoption of an Emergency Department Treatment Pathway for Opioid Use Disorder and Patient Initiation of Buprenorphine After Discharge.

Importance: Emergency department (ED)-based initiation of buprenorphine has been shown to increase engagement in outpatient treatment and reduce the risk of subsequent opioid overdose; however, rates of buprenorphine treatment in the ED and follow-up care for opioid use disorder (OUD) remain low in the US. The Opioid Hospital Quality Improvement Program (O-HQIP), a statewide financial incentive program designed to increase engagement in OUD treatment for Medicaid-enrolled patients who have ED encounters, has the potential to increase ED-initiated buprenorphine treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the association between hospitals attesting to an ED buprenorphine treatment O-HQIP pathway and patients' subsequent initiation of buprenorphine treatment.

Impact of Administering Buprenorphine to Overdose Survivors Using Emergency Medical Services.

Study Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of utilizing emergency medical services units to administer high dose buprenorphine after an overdose to treat withdrawal symptoms, reduce repeat overdose, and provide a next-day substances use disorder clinic appointment to initiate long-term treatment.

Methods: This was a retrospective matched cohort study of patients who experienced an overdose and either received emergency medical services care from a buprenorphine-equipped ambulance or a nonbuprenorphine-equipped ambulance in Camden, New Jersey, an urban community with high overdose rates. There were 117 cases and 123 control patients in the final sample.

Association between availability of medications for opioid use disorder in specialty treatment and use of medications among patients: A state-level trends analysis.

Introduction: Access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is a recognized public health challenge to improving the health of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in many communities. Prior studies have shown that although MOUD availability has increased over time, particularly in some states, many substance use treatment facilities still do not offer medications. The relationship between greater availability of MOUD and use of MOUD among patients in treatment programs is not well understood.

Effects of improvements in the CPS on the estimated prevalence of medical financial burdens.

Objective: To measure the effects of questionnaire and imputation improvements in the Current Population Survey (CPS) on the estimated prevalence of high medical financial burden, that is, families spending more than 10 percent of income on medical care.

Data Source: Matched longitudinal sample of CPS data for 2013 and 2014 calendar years.

Study Design: The CPS used a split-sample design to field traditional and redesigned questions about 2013 income, and old and new out-of-pocket premium imputation procedures, respectively.

Family size effects on childhood obesity: Evidence on the quantity-quality trade-off using the NLSY.

In this study, we use matched mother-child data from the National Longitudinal Surveys to study the effects of family size on child health. Focusing on excess body weight indicators as children's health outcome of interest, we examine the effects of exogenous variations in family size generated by twin births and parental preference for mixed sex composition of their children. We find no significant empirical support in favor of the quantity-quality trade-off theory in instrumental variable regression analysis.