宾州大学公园. - The opioid overdose epidemic in the United States remains a critically important 公共卫生 issue that continues to worsen as time goes on. 预计2021年的死亡人数已达到100人的历史最高水平,000人死于各种药物过量超过75人,000人死于阿片类药物过量. We hear a lot about healthcare data used to indicate the state of the crisis, 但是把犯罪数据作为另一种工具呢?
一项新研究 本月出版 by Penn State researchers using crime incident data found that opioid-related crime incident rates were positively associated with rates of opioid-related emergency department visits, 住院治疗, 以及过量死亡率.
《求是陈, 工业与制造工程助理教授, 也是这个项目的首席研究员, noted that while healthcare data and outcomes are commonly used to characterize the state of the epidemic and evaluate the impact of policy changes, criminal justice data is under-utilized in research despite its high relevance and unique role in the opioid crisis.
“We used incident-level crime data from the 国家 Incident-Based Reporting System (NBIRS) to identify all incidents involving opioids and examined whether using crime data could describe temporal trends and shifting patterns in the opioid epidemic. 我们的结果与健康相关数据高度一致, making crime data a potential powerful tool for understanding the changing landscape of the crisis,陈说.
使用犯罪数据
The team’s results were consistent with the evolving nature of the opioid epidemic as seen by the distinct waves of opioid overdose deaths. Historically, the opioid epidemic has occurred within the United States in 四种不同的波. The first wave (1999-2010) was largely attributed to prescription opioid painkillers; the second wave (2010-13) was associated with a shift towards heroin use; the third wave (2013-late 2010s) has seen a concerning shift towards potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl; and the fourth and current wave involves a shift towards poly-substance use and a surge in stimulant-involved (cocaine and methamphetamine) in fatal overdoses, 超过处方阿片类药物.
“And we found that the increase of opioid-related crime incident rates was predominantly characterized by incidents involving prescription opioids before 2020, 随后在2010年之后加速转向与海洛因有关的事件,” 格伦多, assistant professor of criminal justice at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 and Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction co-funded faculty member.
对医疗保健系统的影响
Tracking the opioid epidemic through crime data showed a significant relationship between opioid-related crimes and opioid-related emergency department and inpatient visits. 根据 乔尔·席格, associate professor of health policy and administration and another investigator on the research team, opioid possession crimes may be more associated with adverse opioid-related health outcomes than opioid distribution crimes because they may better capture instances of substance use by individuals.
The study found that opioid-related overdoses were more highly predictive of opioid-related hospitalization, and that opioid-related 住院治疗 were more predictive of fatal opioid overdoses.
“这并不奇怪,西格尔说, 因为非致命性过量通常发生在致命性过量之前." The team’s results indicate that criminal justice data may strongly predict future healthcare utilization and overdose deaths. 例如, 如果一个人滥用阿片类药物或其他物质, that individual may be more likely to interact with the criminal justice system earlier than the healthcare system, 或者在致命的药物过量发生之前.
除此之外, the team acknowledged that interventions for those who are justice-involved may help reduce burdens on the healthcare system in the future, and more attention paid to those who utilize healthcare services to reduce acute substance use-related issues.
政策改变的机会
“One of the most critical steps that we can take in regard to developing policies around substance use and misuse, overdose prevention and harm reduction is collecting and synthesizing different types of data for policymakers,陈说. “不幸的是, coordinating efforts across different entities to ensure data sharing is often a slow, 技术复杂的过程.”
减少数据共享的障碍, 本地和全国, would help to comprehensively address the opioid epidemic and other emerging substance use issues, 据研究人员称. Not all states or local communities have developed infrastructure with adequate capacity and resources to collect, 编制和匹配跨部门数据集. 对公共领域的相关数据进行分析, 例如具有事件级别详细信息的NIBRS数据, could be among practical alternative approaches for identifying emerging trends of substance uses in the community.
然而, Chen emphasized the importance of a multi-pronged infrastructure with adequate policy and bureaucratic support. “为了将阿片类药物危机作为一个多方面的问题来解决, a systematic approach is necessary to unify efforts across different sectors of healthcare, 公共卫生, 以及刑事司法,陈说.
这个项目还包括子轩风, 工业和制造工程专业的博士生. 这项研究由腾讯分分彩平台资助 社会科学研究所 seed grant and supported by the 社会科学研究所’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction at Penn State.
