Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Opioid Use Disorder and Poisoning Emergency Department Visits in Florida

Authors

Weiwei Chen, Kennesaw State University
Timothy F. Page, Department of Management, H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University, 3301 College Ave, Davie, FL, 33314, USA.
Wenjie Sun, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.

Department

Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2021

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the role of individual race/ethnicity and community racial/ethnic mix on the type of opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits in Florida. METHODS: The study identifies opioid-related ED visits that involved heroin, non-heroin poisoning, and opioid use disorder (OUD) from the first quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2018 in Florida. The trend is depicted by patients' race/ethnicity and racial/ethnic mix of residential communities. Combined with zip code tabulation area data, the study builds a multilevel model and examines how individual-level and community-level covariates relate to the type of opioid-related ED visits. RESULTS: While opioid-related ED visit rate was highest among white patients, majority-black communities caught up with the majority-white communities in the visit rate. The multilevel model results suggest that the likelihood of an opioid-related ED visit involving heroin, non-heroin poisoning, or OUD differed by patient race/ethnicity as well as community racial/ethnic mix. Opioid-related ED visits among minority patients were more likely to involve non-heroin poisoning than non-Hispanic white patients, whereas patients from minority-dominant communities were more likely to involve heroin poisoning than from majority-white communities. However, community racial/ethnic mix was not significantly or less significantly associated with the likelihood of involving OUD ED visits. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the heterogeneity of the opioid overdose problem across racial/ethnic patients and communities with different racial/ethnic mixes. Future policies may consider the effect of living in different racial/ethnic mixed communities in addition to individual race/ethnicity.

Journal Title

Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities

Volume

8

Issue

6

First Page

1395

Last Page

1405

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1007/s40615-020-00901-9