Exploration of the STOP Act and Opioid Deaths in North Carolina, 2010–2018

Bibliographic Data

ID11023559
AuthorsPhillip M Hughes (0000-0002-5472-1677, Mountain Area Health Education Center), Phillip Hughes (Phillip Hughes, Sheri Denslow, and Bayla Ostrach are with UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC. Carriedelle Fusco is with the Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville. Casey Tak is with the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.), Sheri Denslow (Phillip Hughes, Sheri Denslow, and Bayla Ostrach are with UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC. Carriedelle Fusco is with the Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville. Casey Tak is with the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.), B Ostrach (0000-0003-2803-3747, Phillip Hughes, Sheri Denslow, and Bayla Ostrach are with UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC. Carriedelle Fusco is with the Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville. Casey Tak is with the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.), Carriedelle Fusco (Phillip Hughes, Sheri Denslow, and Bayla Ostrach are with UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC. Carriedelle Fusco is with the Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville. Casey Tak is with the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.), Carriedelle Wilson Fusco (Mountain Area Health Education Center), Casey Tak (0000-0002-1203-1782, Phillip Hughes, Sheri Denslow, and Bayla Ostrach are with UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, Asheville, NC. Carriedelle Fusco is with the Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville. Casey Tak is with the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)
Year2020
Volume110
Issue10
Pages1573-1577
Publication date2020-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2020.305748
PMID32816537
OpenAlexW3075513068
LanguageEN
References cited24

Objectives. To examine the impact of North Carolina’s 2017 Strengthening Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act on opioid overdose deaths. Methods. We used quarterly data from the North Carolina Opioid Dashboard to conduct an interrupted time series analysis ranging from 2010 to 2018. Results were stratified by heroin–fentanyl deaths and other opioid deaths. Results. After the STOP Act, there was an initial rate increase of 0.60 opioid deaths per 100 000 population (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.04, 1.15) and a decrease of 0.42 (95% CI = −0.56, −0.29) every quarter thereafter. Results differed by stratification. Conclusions. Our results suggest that North Carolina’s STOP Act was associated with a reduction in opioid deaths in the year following enactment. The changes in opioid overdose death trends coinciding with the STOP Act were similar to outcomes seen with previous opioid policies. Public Health Implications. Future policies designed to reduce the availability of opioids may benefit from encouraging and increasing the availability of evidence-based treatment of opioid use disorder

Environmental health · Family medicine · Opioid · Opioid epidemic · Opioid-Related Disorders · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Opioid Use Disorder Treatment · Pain Management and Opioid Use · Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects

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