Patterns of opioid misuse initiation among African-Americans

Abstract

Aims

Opioid misuse among African-Americans (AAs) has increased over the last two decades. However, there has been surprisingly little investigation into when/how AAs initiate their misuse of opioids. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to identify opioid misuse initiation patterns among AAs and assess whether these patterns differed from those of White Americans. The research goals were to identify the: (1) age at which opioid misuse initiation among AAs occurs, (2) opioids that AAs most commonly use at initiation, and (3) source of opioids used at initiation. Qualitative interview data are also presented to contextualize the circumstances surrounding initiation.

Methods

Data were drawn from The Florida Minority Health Survey, a mixed-methods project that included online surveys (n = 403) and qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 30). Data collection was conducted from August 2021 to February 2022 throughout the state of Florida.

Findings

The sample was approximately three-fourths male, half was age 34 or younger, and consisted of 303 AA and 100 White adults. Analyses revealed that AAs and White Americans differed somewhat in the way they begin their opioid misuse. While AAs and White Americans both tended to initiate with prescription opioids (not heroin), AAs initiated at younger ages and mostly acquired opioids through non-healthcare related sources (e.g. friends, dealer).

Conclusions

These findings add to the limited research on opioid misuse initiation and provide important data to providers by identifying when/how AAs begin their use of opioids.

Keywords:

• Opioid misuse
• prevention
• African-Americans
• mixed-methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the University of South Florida (USF) through a grant program. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of USF.