Spatial heterogeneity and socioeconomic determinants of opioid prescribing in England between 2015 and 2018.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Opioid overdoses have had a serious impact on the public health systems and socioeconomic welfare of several countries. Within this broader context, we focus our study on primary care opioid prescribing in England from 2015 to 2018, particularly the patterns of spatial variations at the community level and the socioeconomic and environmental factors that drive consumption.

Methods

Leveraging open data sources, we combine prescription records with aggregated data on patient provenance and build highly granular maps of Oral Morphine Equivalent (OME) prescribing rates for Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOA). We quantify the strength of spatial associations by means of the Empirical Bayes Index (EBI) that accounts for geographical variations in population density. W

SUBMITTER: Schifanella R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7227089 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature