Project Title
Opioid Overdose Deaths in Vermont: Comparing Rates of Mortality in Urban Versus Rural Settings
Date of Publication
2022
Faculty Mentor
Joseph Zamboni
Abstract
Objective: To investigate differences in opioid-related overdose death in Vermont based on urban versus rural setting.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using Vermont’s Electronic Death Registration System from 2015-2019. After applying exclusion criteria, 570 subjects were included in bivariate logistic regression analyses.
Results: Individuals who died in urban areas had 45.8% lower odds of death due to opioid use than those in rural areas. For every one-year increase in age, odds of overdose death decreased by 4.6%. For females, odds of death due to opioid use was 19.4% lower than the odds for males.
Conclusions: Vermont residents who died in urban areas were significantly less likely to have died of opioid overdose when compared to their rural counterparts. With increased age and female identity there was a decreased likelihood of opioid-related overdose death across geographic areas.
Public Health Implications: The results indicate that targeting increased interventions at rural illicit drug users while increasing the number of “spokes” in rural areas may allow providers to better support those experiencing opioid addiction in Vermont.
Document Type
Project
Recommended Citation
Bernier, Jamie; Thomas, Jonna; Donepudi, Sindhu; Serino, Sierra; Crisafulli, Mia; and Zamboni, Joseph, "Opioid Overdose Deaths in Vermont: Comparing Rates of Mortality in Urban Versus Rural Settings" (2022). Master of Public Health Culminating Projects. 27.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/mphcp/27