Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of opioid-involved overdose decedents in eight Wave 1 intervention communities of the HEALing Communities Study, Massachusetts, 2017–2020 (N=785).
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| N | 214 | 194 | 182 | 195 | 785 |
| Sex | |||||
|
| |||||
| Male | 158 (73.8) | 134 (69.1) | 133 (73.1) | 142 (72.8) | 567 (72.2) |
| Female | 56 (26.2) | 60 (30.9) | 49 (26.9) | 53 (27.2) | 218 (27.8) |
| Race and Ethnicity | |||||
|
| |||||
| NH White | 164 (76.6) | 146 (75.3) | 127 (69.8) | 127 (65.1) | 564 (71.8) |
| NH Black | 18 (8.4) | 18 (9.3) | 16 (8.8) | 29 (14.9) | 81 (10.3) |
| Hispanic | 29 (13.5) | 25 (12.9) | 36 (19.8) | 33 (16.9) | 123 (15.7) |
| Other | 3 (1.4) | 5 (2.3) | 3 (1.6) | 6 (3.1) | 17 (2.2) |
| Marital status | |||||
|
| |||||
| Never married | 147 (68.7) | 111 (57.2) | 120 (65.9) | 117 (60.0) | 495 (63.1) |
| Married | 22 (10.3) | 39 (20.1) | 25 (13.7) | 26 (13.3) | 112 (14.3) |
| Separated/Divorced/Widowed | 45 (21.0 | 39 (20.1) | 35 (19.2) | 47 (24.1) | 166 (21.1) |
| Unknown | 0 | 5 (2.6) | 2 (1.1) | 5 (2.6) | 12 (1.5) |
| Veteran | |||||
|
| |||||
| Yes | 11 (5.1) | 16 (8.2) | 3 (1.6) | 3 (1.5) | 33 (4.2) |
| No/Unknown | 203 (94.9) | 178 (91.8) | 179 (98.3) | 192 (98.5) | 752 (95.8) |
| Age | |||||
|
| |||||
| mean (sd) | 40.1 (11.7) | 43.1 (12.3) | 42.3 (11.9) | 44.1 (12.5) | 42.6 (12.1) |
| Median | 39 | 42 | 40.5 | 43 | 41 |
| IQR | 32, 51 | 33,51 | 33,53 | 35, 52 | 33,52 |
| Recorded Place of Death | |||||
|
| |||||
| Hospital | 87 (40.6) | 70 (36.1) | 54 (29.7) _ | 60 (30.8) | 271 (34.5) |
| Decedenťs residence | 87 (40.6) | 98 (50.5) | 88 (48.3) | 101 (51.8) | 374 (47.6) |
| Hospice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.1) |
| Nursing home | 1 (0.5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1) |
| Asst living/rest home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 39 (18.2) | 26 (13.4) | 40 (21.9) | 33 (16.9) | 138 (17.6) |
| Recorded Injury location | |||||
|
| |||||
| No | 119 (55.6) | 110 (56.7) | 105 (57.7) | 108 (55.4) | 442 (56.3) |
| Yes | 95 (44.4) | 84 (43.3) | 77 (42.3) | 87 (44.6) | 343 (43.7) |
| Recoded Place of Fatal Overdose | |||||
|
| |||||
| Hospital, no recorded injury location | 51 (23.8) | 41 (21.1) | 31 (17.0) | 32 (16.4) | 155 (19.7) |
| Decedent’s residence | 89 (65.4) | 108 (55.7) | 88 (48.4) | 109 (56.0) | 394 (50.2) |
| Other location | 74 (34.6) | 45 (23.2) | 63 (34.6) | 54 (27.7) | 232 (30.1) |
|
| |||||
| Recoded “other” locations of fatal overdose | |||||
| Other person’s residence1 | 44 (59.4) | 24 (53.3) | 43 (71.6) | 30 (56.6) | 141 (60.8) |
| Institutional residences (of other people)2 | 2 (2.7) | 2 (4.4) | 1 (16) | 1 (18) | 6 (2.6) |
| Outside3 | 18 (24.3) | 12 (26.7) | 13 (21.7) | 11 (20.7) | 54 (23.3) |
| Public indoor4 | 10 (13.5) | 7 (15.5) | 3 (5.0) | 11 (20.7) | 31 (13.4) |
NH = Non-Hispanic; sd = standard deviation; IQR = Interquartile Range
1
Other person’s residence: Independent apartments, houses, public housing.
2
Institutional residences (of other people): Homeless shelters, single-room occupancies (SROs), supportive housing, nursing homes, assisted living, drug treatment facilities, and sober homes.
3
Public indoor: Bars, restaurants, hotels, public bathrooms, offices, building lobbies, elevators, and stairways.
4
Outside: Parks, streets, cars.