Dataset Information

Impact of mandatory COVID-19 shelter-in-place order on controlled substance use among rural versus urban communities in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Mandatory COVID-19 shelter-in-place (SIP) orders have been imposed to fight the pandemic. They may also have led to unintended consequences of increased use of controlled substances especially among rural communities due to increased social isolation. Using the data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, this study tests the hypothesis that the poison control centers received higher rates of calls related to exposures to controlled substances from rural counties than they did from urban counties during the SIP period.

Methods

Call counts received by the poison control centers between October 19, 2019 and July 6, 2020 due to exposure to controlled substance (methamphetamine, opioids, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and other narcotics) were aggregated to per-county-per-month-per-10,000 population exposure rates. A falsification test was conducted to reduce the possibility of spurious correlations.

Findings

During the study period, 2,649 counties in the United States had mandatory SIP orders. The rate of calls reporting exposure to any of the aforementioned controlled substances among the rural counties was higher (14%; P = .047) relative to the urban counties. This overall increase was due to increases in the rates of calls reporting exposure to opioids (26%; P = .017) and methamphetamine (39%; P = .077). Moreover, the rate of calls reporting exposures at home was also higher among the rural counties (14%; P = .069).

Conclusion

The mandatory SIP orders may have had an unintended consequence of exacerbating the use of controlled substances at home in rural communities relative to urban communities.

SUBMITTER: Maeng D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9349882 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Impact of mandatory COVID-19 shelter-in-place order on controlled substance use among rural versus urban communities in the United States.

Maeng Daniel D Li Yue Y Lawrence Michele M Keane Sinead S Cross Wendi W Conner Kenneth R KR Lee Hochang B HB

The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association 20220616 1

<h4>Purpose</h4>Mandatory COVID-19 shelter-in-place (SIP) orders have been imposed to fight the pandemic. They may also have led to unintended consequences of increased use of controlled substances especially among rural communities due to increased social isolation. Using the data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, this study tests the hypothesis that the poison control centers received higher rates of calls related to exposures to controlled substances from rural counties ...[more]

PMID: 35710976

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Project description:ImportanceScreening for breast and colorectal cancer has resulted in reductions in mortality; however, questions remain regarding how these interventions are being diffused to all segments of the population. If an intervention is less amenable to diffusion, it could be associated with disparities in mortality rates, especially in rural vs urban areas.ObjectivesTo compare the prevalence of breast and colorectal cancer screening adherence and to identify factors associated with screening adherence among women residing in rural vs urban areas in the United States.Design, setting, and participantsThis population-based cross-sectional study of women aged 50 to 75 years in 11 states was conducted from 2017 to 2020.Main outcomes and measuresAdherence to cancer screening based on the US Preventative Services Task Force guidelines. For breast cancer screening, women who had mammograms in the past 2 years were considered adherent. For colorectal cancer screening, women who had (1) a stool test in the past year, (2) a colonoscopy in the past 10 years, or (3) a sigmoidoscopy in the past 5 years were considered adherent. Rural status was coded using Rural Urban Continuum Codes, and other variables were assessed to identify factors associated with screening.ResultsThe overall sample of 2897 women included 1090 (38.4%) rural residents; 2393 (83.5%) non-Hispanic White women; 263 (9.2%) non-Hispanic Black women; 68 (2.4%) Hispanic women; 1629 women (56.2%) aged 50 to 64 years; and 712 women (24.8%) with a high school education or less. Women residing in urban areas were significantly more likely to be adherent to colorectal cancer screening compared with women residing in rural areas (1429 [82%] vs 848 [78%]; P = .01), whereas the groups were equally likely to be adherent to breast cancer screening (1347 [81%] vs 830 [81%]; P = .78). Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression analyses confirmed that rural residence was associated with lower odds of being adherent to colorectal cancer screening (odds ratio [OR], 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66-0.99, P = .047). Non-Hispanic Black race was associated with adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines (OR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.78-4.56; P < .001) but not colorectal cancer screening guidelines.Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional study, women residing in rural areas were less likely to be adherent to colorectal cancer screening guidelines but were similarly adherent to breast cancer screening. This suggests that colorectal cancer screening, a more recent intervention, may not be as available in rural areas as breast cancer screening, ie, colorectal screening has lower amenability.

Dataset Information

Impact of mandatory COVID-19 shelter-in-place order on controlled substance use among rural versus urban communities in the United States.

Purpose

Methods

Findings

Conclusion

Publications

Impact of mandatory COVID-19 shelter-in-place order on controlled substance use among rural versus urban communities in the United States.

Similar Datasets

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