Stopka Thomas J, Jacque Erin, Kelley Jon, Emond Lainnie, Vigroux Kerran, Palacios Wilson R
Dept. of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, United States.
Trinity Emergency Medical Services, United States.
Prev Med Rep. 2021 Oct 6;24:101591. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101591. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Between 2015 and 2018, Lowell Massachusetts experienced outbreaks in opioid overdoses, HIV, and hepatitis C virus infections (HCV) among people who inject drugs. Through an innovative collaboration between emergency medical services (EMS), public health, and academic partners, we assessed the geographic distribution of opioid-related risks to inform intervention efforts. We analyzed data from three unique data sources for publicly discarded syringes, opioid-related incidents (ORIs), and fatal opioid overdoses in Lowell between 2008 and 2018. We assessed the risk environment over time using a geographic information system to identify and characterize hotspots and noted parallel trends within the syringe discard and ORI data. We identified two notable increases in ORIs per day: the first occurring between 2008 and 2010 (from 0.3 to 0.5), and the second between 2011 and 2014 (from 0.9 to 1.3), following the introduction of fentanyl within local drug markets. We also identified seasonal patterns in the syringe discard, ORI, and overdose data. Through our spatial analyses, we identified significant clusters of discarded syringes, ORIs, and fatal overdoses (p < 0.05), and neighborhoods where high densities of these outcomes overlapped. We found that areas with the highest densities shifted over time, expanding beyond the epicenter of the Downtown neighborhood. Data sharing and analyses among EMS, public health, and academic partners can foster better assessments of local risk environments. Our work, along with new public health efforts in Lowell, led to a city-funded position to improve pick-up and proper disposal of publicly discarded syringes, and better targeted harm reduction services.
2015年至2018年期间,马萨诸塞州洛厄尔市注射吸毒者中出现了阿片类药物过量、艾滋病毒和丙型肝炎病毒感染(HCV)的疫情。通过紧急医疗服务(EMS)、公共卫生和学术伙伴之间的创新合作,我们评估了阿片类药物相关风险的地理分布,以为干预措施提供信息。我们分析了2008年至2018年期间洛厄尔市三个独特数据源的数据,这些数据分别是公开丢弃的注射器、阿片类药物相关事件(ORI)和阿片类药物过量致死事件。我们使用地理信息系统评估了随时间变化的风险环境,以识别和描述热点地区,并注意到注射器丢弃数据和ORI数据中的平行趋势。我们发现每天的ORI有两次显著增加:第一次发生在2008年至2010年之间(从0.3增加到0.5),第二次发生在2011年至2014年之间(从0.9增加到1.3),这是在当地毒品市场引入芬太尼之后。我们还在注射器丢弃、ORI和过量用药数据中发现了季节性模式。通过空间分析,我们确定了丢弃注射器、ORI和致命过量用药的显著聚集区(p<0.05),以及这些结果高密度重叠的社区。我们发现,密度最高的区域随时间发生了变化,超出了市中心社区的中心地带。EMS、公共卫生和学术伙伴之间的数据共享和分析可以促进对当地风险环境的更好评估。我们的工作,以及洛厄尔市新的公共卫生努力,促成了一个由市政府资助的职位,以改善对公开丢弃注射器的收集和妥善处理,并提供更有针对性的减少伤害服务。