Use of an Inverted Synthetic Control Method to Estimate Effects of Recent Drug Overdose Good Samaritan Laws, Overall and by Black/White Race/Ethnicity.

ABSTRACT: Overdose Good Samaritan laws (GSLs) aim to reduce mortality by providing limited legal protections when a bystander to a possible drug overdose summons help. Most research into the impact of these laws is dated or potentially confounded by coenacted naloxone access laws. Lack of awareness and trust in GSL protections, as well as fear of police involvement and legal repercussions, remain key deterrents to help-seeking. These barriers may be unequally distributed by race/ethnicity due to racist policing and drug policies, potentially producing racial/ethnic disparities in the effectiveness of GSLs for reducing overdose mortality. We used 2015-2019 vital statistics data to estimate the effect of recent GSLs on overdose mortality, overall (8 states) and by Black/White race/ethnicity (4 states)

SUBMITTER: Townsend TN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9989361 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature