Structural Correlates of Substance-Related EMS Activations, Hospital Discharges, and Mortality in New Jersey: A Spatial Analysis​

Drug overdose mortality and treatment need are unevenly distributed across areas, populations, and timeperiods, but the factors driving these trends are not fully understood. In New Jersey, overdose mortality peaked in 2022 and remains high across groups and across counties. Although many research efforts have focused ontrends in opioid-related outcomes, this narrow focus can overlook broader drug-related trends that couldhighlight opportunities for intervention. Our study will utilize iPHD data to examine shifting trends in substancerelated emergency medical system activations, hospitalizations, and mortality over time and across New Jersey. We will spatially link these data to geocoded information on specialty substance use treatment facility availability, buprenorphine prescriptions, population demographics, and county characteristics. This will allow us to estimate relationships between these structural factors and clusters of substance-related emergencies, hospitalizations, and mortality. By adopting a multi-substance perspective and integrating spatial methods, our approach aligns with iPHD research priorities aimed at both addressing the opioid crisis and improving equitable access to behavioral health throughout New Jersey. We will disseminate findings to inform state program planning across a range of interventions and will use results to prepare a grant application for the NIH in 2027.