Narrowing of the Racial Gap In Opioid-Involved Deaths: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice

Methods: Data were abstracted from secondary data sources, including the Louisiana Opioid Data and Surveillance System. Trends in opioid-involved deaths, drug-induced deaths, and opioid prescription by prescriber location were determined in the U.S. and Louisiana. Results: The increasing trends in age-adjusted rate of opioid-involved deaths in Louisiana has mimicked what has occurred in the United States.The crude rates of drug-induced deaths in the U.S. and Louisiana exhibited an increasing trend. However, the trend in opioid prescriptions had a decreasing trend.The crude rates were higher in non-Hispanic Whites, as well as in males. This trend is changing with the gap between opioid-involved deaths among non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks narrowing, as well as between males and females. Conclusions: The study confirmed that the opioid epidemic in the U.S. is also occurring in Louisiana. The changing trends in the rate of opioid-involved deaths indicate anarrowing of the gap between non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks, and males and females, and that public health practice and health policy must address the future needs to mitigate the opioid epidemic.