Third spaces and opioid use within Black communities of Dane County: a qualitative secondary data analysis

ABSTRACT This study utilizes data initially collected by evaluators at Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services to create a secondary data analysis to investigate the opioid use and misuse among Black residents of Dane County. Sociologist Eric Klinenberg defines the term social infrastructure as the physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact. This study analyzes conversations of Black women, men, and youth throughout Dane County as they discuss the role of social infrastructure, specifically Third Spaces, as a contributing factor to drug abuse. Using a phenomenological design to analyze eleven focus groups and interview transcripts, this study helps fill the gap in scholarly literature of first-hand accounts from Black residents who have been impacted by the opioid crisis. Interviewees reveal that opioid use in Black communities throughout Dane County is exceptionally complex and involves multiple systems and structures that reach far beyond individuals’ choices and behaviors, which are often alluded to as the root of drug abuse. The first-hand accounts depict the impact of being denied access to spaces and how the absence of social infrastructure has impacted their lives. The results of this study help support arguments for easily accessible social, economic, and political resources in Black communities to reduce opioid abuse.