Opioid-related overdose deaths by race and neighborhood economic hardship in Chicago

Abstract

Compared to national findings, Chicago has both a higher rate of opioid-related overdose death and a markedly different distribution by demographics. The Chicago Department of Public Health analyzed fatal overdoses by level of neighborhood economic hardship. The highest rate of opioid-related deaths occurred in neighborhoods with high economic hardship (36.9 per 100,000 population) compared to medium- (20.5) and low- (12.3) hardship neighborhoods. However, these patterns were not consistent across racial/Hispanic ethnicity subgroups. These data support the need to consider the role of racism and other structural, social, and economic factors when designing interventions to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths.

Keywords:

• Substance use
• opioids
• health disparities
• social determinants of health
• health equity

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Kingsley Weaver and Blair Turner for their assistance with this manuscript. The initial development of this manuscript was informed by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Writing Training Program.

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest to disclose.