Attached.

Socioeconomic Status and Opioid Addiction in the United States – Outline
Thesis statement: The literature shows that there is a link between demographic characteristic
such as income and race and opioid addiction in the United States.
I.

Introduction

II.

Opioid Addiction and Socioeconomic Status

III.

Opioid Addiction and Race

IV.

Ways of Preventing Opioid Addiction/Alternatives to Opioids

V.

Conclusion

VI.

Works Cited


Surname 1
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Socioeconomic Status and Opioid Addiction in the United States: A Literature Review
Introduction
The term ‘opioids’ refers to a group of drugs that include heroin, codeine, methadone,
oxycodone, and morphine. Opioids are used for pain management but are highly addictive
and can lead to death and hospitalization. However, despite this, there is little information on
the relationship between demography and the unsafe use of opioids that lead to undesired
outcomes. It has become crucial to identify the factors linked with the rising opioid use in the
United States to formulate prevention measures to counter the epidemic. Some of the research
available on this issue have sought to clarify some of the factors that may contribute to the
chances of unsafe use of the drug. This essay, in this regard, seeks to review some of the
knowledge available on this subject and argues that the literature shows that there is a link
between demographic characteristics such as income and race and opioid addiction in the
United States.
According to Anastas et al, there is a link between socioeconomic status and the
probability of health service providers recommending opioid therapy as well workplace
arrangements for severe pain. The authors conducted a study where medical staff were asked
to look at computer-generated patients with varying occupation, pain intensity, and race and
were asked to the probability of their recommending opioid therapy and workplace
arrangements for pain relief. The study found significant impact of socioeconomic status in
that the providers were more likely to recommend opioid therapy for patients in low socioeconomic status. Further, the study found that healthcare providers were more likely to

Surname 2

recommend workplace arrangements for pain relief for patients with high socioeconomic
status. With regards to race, the study found that pain interference through opioid therapy was
more likely to be recommended for patients who were black than for white patients. The
likelihood of workplace recommendations, participants were more likely to suggest such for
white patients than their back counterparts. This study suggests that patients’ socioeconomic
status significantly and race affects the way providers respond to pain treatment.
A study conducted by Joynt et al. also suggests that socioeconomic status and race do
affect the likelihood of opioid prescription. The authors used data from a survey by the
National Hospital Ambulatory Care conducted during the period between 2006 and 2009 to
analyze the link between opioid prescription and race and socioeconomic status. The results
showed that the likelihood of opioid prescription for patients that belonged to high
socioeconomic status was higher than that of patients from the low socioeconomic
background. Further, black patients were less likely to receive an opioid prescription than
white patients regardless of socioeconomic status. Black and poor patients such as Hispanic
patients were also less likely to be given the drug after accounting for their need.
A report by the Healthy Capital District Initiative (HCDI) on opioid overdose also
sought to establish the association between demographic factors and t...