Neighborhood level factors and variation in fatal and non-fatal overdoes rates by race and ethnicity

The overdose crisis continues to disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic/Latino New Jersey residents with access to harm reduction being limited by systemic barriers for these groups. The present research aims to address iPHD research priority one, informing New Jersey’s integrated approach to addressing the opioid epidemic, and research priority three, assuring access to physical and behavioral health services and addressing the social determinants of health. Specifically, the present study will address these research priorities by identifying which built environment, treatment/harm reduction strategies, and neighborhood sociodemographic factors are associated with fatal and non-fatal overdoses for each racial/ethnic group. Consideration and selection of neighborhood-level factors and covariates will be guided by the social determinants of health framework. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and mortality datasets will be used to create the outcome variables of interest in the current study. EMS data will be used to construct non-fatal overdose measures for all New Jersey residents, and within each racial/ethnic group; and mortality data will be used to construct similar measures for fatal overdoses. The ultimate goal of this proposed research is to inform outreach efforts to better target marginalized groups, as well as funding for future substance use-related programs in the state.