Mapping the Opioid Epidemic in Rhode Island: Where Are We Missing Resources?

Opioid overdose deaths have been rising steadily over the past decade in Rhode Island (RI), and although deaths have decreased slightly over the past year, there were 314 deaths in 2018 and there have been 208 deaths in the first 9 months of 2019.1 The objective of this spatial study is to identify the RI regions with the greatest need for opioid emergency response and rehabilitation resources. Using geographic information systems (GIS), we identify areas in RI with high overdose rates and that are far from emergency departments, and areas with high rates of treatment admissions that are far away from Centers of Excellence (COEs) which provide effective medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Ultimately, we identified Burrillville, Coventry, Bristol, and Portsmouth as towns needing more emergency resources and Western Hopkinton, Western Richmond, and Western Scituate as areas needing more high-quality rehabilitation resources. These findings should inform future decisions when considering new locations for COEs or emergency resources to respond to the Rhode Island opioid epidemic.