Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
"That's why we're speaking up today": exploring barriers to overdose fatality prevention in Indianapolis' Black
Dong-Chul Seo1, Naomi Satterfield2, Leonardo Alba-Lopez3
1School of Public Health, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, 1025 E 7th St., Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA. seo@iu.edu.
Background:
Opioid overdose deaths are of great concern to public health, with over one million lives lost since 1999. While many efforts have been made to mitigate these, Black communities continue to experience a greater burden of fatalities than their white counterparts. This study aims to explore why by working with Black community members in Indianapolis through semi-structured interviews.
Methods:
Semi-structured one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted in spring and summer of 2023 with Black residents (N = 23) of zip codes 46202, 46205, 46208, and 46218 in Indianapolis. Ten interview questions were used to facilitate conversations about opioid overdoses, recovery, fatality prevention tools such as calling 911 and naloxone, law enforcement, and racism. Data were analyzed using grounded theory and thematic analysis.
Results:
Interviews revealed access barriers and intervention opportunities. Racism was present in both. Mental access barriers such as stigma, fear, and mistrust contributed to practical barriers such as knowledge of how to administer naloxone. Racism exacerbated mental barriers by adding the risk of race-based mistreatment to consequences related to association with substance use. Participants discussed the double stigma of substance use and being Black, fear of being searched in law enforcement encounters and what would happen if law enforcement found naloxone on them, and mistrust of law enforcement and institutions that provide medical intervention. Participants had favorable views of interventions that incorporated mutual aid and discussed ideas for future interventions that included this framework.
Conclusions:
Racism exacerbates Blacks' mental access barriers (i.e., help-seeking barriers), which, in turn, contribute to practical barriers, such as calling 911 and administering naloxone. Information and resources coming from people within marginalized communities tend to be trusted. Leveraging inter-community relationships may increase engagement in opioid overdose fatality prevention. Interventions and resources directed toward addressing opioid overdose fatalities in Black communities should use mutual aid frameworks to increase the utilization of the tools they provide.
More Related Videos
09:29Investigating Drivers of Antireward in Addiction Behavior with Anatomically Specific Single-Cell Gene Expression Methods
Published on: August 4, 2022
10:13Author Spotlight: An Efficient Methodology to Confidently Differentiate and Characterize Fentanyl Analogs
Published on: November 8, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:14Prevention of Further Absorption of Poison
01:30Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
01:26Coronary Artery Disease IV: Preventive Measures
01:03Drug Control Governance: Regulatory Bodies and Their Impact
01:21Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...