Understanding and responding to the urban opioid epidemic

Abstract

Current strategies to address the opioid epidemic have focused primarily on rural, suburban, white populations for those aged between 35 and 45 years. However, recent shifts in mortality rates and types of opioid misuse (e.g., synthetics, heroin) are disproportionately impacting urban places and communities of color. More specifically, the proliferation of synthetic opioids has resulted in increased opioid-involved overdose deaths among minority populations, including Hispanic people and non-Hispanic Black people. More attention to urban communities is warranted to ensure the development and
equitable delivery of effective strategies in urban settings and with populations of color.
As such, practitioners need to know the unique aspects of the opioid epidemic in urban settings and to what degree responses across the continuum of care need to differ in these emerging contexts. This chapter attempts to shed light on these less-understood and less-researched aspects of the opioid epidemic by providing key considerations for practitioners and policymakers.