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Descriptive Epidemiology for Community-wide Naloxone Administration by Police Officers and Firefighters Responding to Opioid Overdose

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Abstract

Recently implemented New York State policy allows police and fire to administer intranasal naloxone when responding to opioid overdoses. This work describes the geographic distribution of naloxone administration (NlxnA) by police and fire when responding to opioid overdoses in Erie County, NY, an area of approximately 920,000 people including the City of Buffalo. Data are from opioid overdose reports (N = 800) filed with the Erie County Department of Health (July 2014–June 2016) by police/fire and include the overdose ZIP code, reported drug(s) used, and NlxnA. ZIP code data were geocoded and mapped to examine spatial patterns of NlxnA. The highest NlxnA rates (range: 0.01–84.3 per 10,000 population) were concentrated within the city and first-ring suburbs. Within 3 min 27.3% responded to NlxnA and 81.6% survived the overdose. The average individual was male (70.3%) and 31.4 years old (SD = 10.3). Further work is needed to better understand NlxnA and overdose, including exploring how the neighborhood environment creates a context for drug use, and how this context influences naloxone use and overdose experiences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Sarah Cercone Heavey

  2. Institute for Community Health Promotion, Center for Health and Social Research, Center for Development of Human Services, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Alan M. Delmerico & William F. Wieczorek

  3. Departments of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Gale Burstein & Gregory G. Homish

  4. Erie County, NY Department of Health, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Gale Burstein & Cheryll Moore

  5. Department of Community Health & Health Behavior, School of Public Health & Health Professions, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    R. Lorraine Collins & Gregory G. Homish

  6. School of Nursing, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Yu-Ping Chang

Authors
  1. Sarah Cercone Heavey
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  2. Alan M. Delmerico
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  3. Gale Burstein
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  4. Cheryll Moore
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  5. William F. Wieczorek
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  6. R. Lorraine Collins
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  7. Yu-Ping Chang
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  8. Gregory G. Homish
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Correspondence to Sarah Cercone Heavey.

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Heavey, S.C., Delmerico, A.M., Burstein, G. et al. Descriptive Epidemiology for Community-wide Naloxone Administration by Police Officers and Firefighters Responding to Opioid Overdose. J Community Health 43, 304–311 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0422-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0422-8

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