Overdose deaths climb, widening disparities

Drug overdose death rates in 2020 increased 44% among Black people and 39% among American Indiana and Alaska Native people, compared with 22% for white people and 21% for Hispanic people, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. Based on data from 25 states and Washington, D.C., the report found that most people who died had no evidence of substance use treatment before their deaths, and a lower proportion of people from racial and ethnic minority groups received treatment, compared with white people. The CDC calls for health care leaders to identify and address cultural, economic and structural reasons that can increase overdose risk. Using culturally appropriate practices, providing support groups, linking people to treatment and recovery and offering medication for opioid use disorder are among the policies the CDC recommends. (CDC report, 7/19/22)