The Longitudinal Population Health Impact of Opioid Settlement Funding: A Case Study from Pennsylvania in the United States
Author(s)
Dennis Scanlon, PhD1, Amy Yeung, MPH1, Joel Segel, PhD1, Renee Cloutier, PhD2, Glenn Sterner, PhD1, Jonathan Larsen, JD3, Alyssa Alstaedter, BS1.
1Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, 2University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 3Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, 2University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 3Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Problem Statement: Worldwide, about 60 million people used opioids at least once in 2021. In the United States (US), there has been a 7.5-fold increase in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids from 2015 to 2022, making up 68% of national drug overdose deaths reported in 2022. To address their role in the US opioid epidemic, a $26 billion USD national settlement agreement with major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors was reached. Pennsylvania is to receive nearly $2 billion in opioid settlement funds over a 15-year period, raising important questions about how decisions are made regarding settlement fund resource allocation, including the ultimate public health effectiveness of improving the harm caused by the opioid epidemic.
Description: We collect information on interventions funded from settlement dollars from August 2022 to systematically measure the heterogeneity of funding uses, and the impact of these interventions on key population health outcomes of interest, such as trends in overdose deaths, trends in diagnosis of opioid use disorder, etc.
Lessons Learned: This study uses empirical data to assess the effectiveness of a strategy to allow local autonomy over the decision on interventions to fund from settlement funds to reduce the harm caused by opiates. To date over $83M USD has been spent and committed on approved remediation programs by all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Our research characterizes the variation in spending by type of intervention (e.g., prevention, treatment, recovery support, etc.) and the populations targeted by the spending (e.g., justice-involved individuals, individuals seeking treatment, adolescents, etc.). We use statistical techniques to associate changes in key population health measures to the interventions, with the goal of assessing real world effectiveness.
Stakeholder Perspective: This research is conducted from the perspective of county governments in Pennsylvania. This study explores how to effectively structure and allocate damage awards to address important population and public health outcomes.
Description: We collect information on interventions funded from settlement dollars from August 2022 to systematically measure the heterogeneity of funding uses, and the impact of these interventions on key population health outcomes of interest, such as trends in overdose deaths, trends in diagnosis of opioid use disorder, etc.
Lessons Learned: This study uses empirical data to assess the effectiveness of a strategy to allow local autonomy over the decision on interventions to fund from settlement funds to reduce the harm caused by opiates. To date over $83M USD has been spent and committed on approved remediation programs by all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Our research characterizes the variation in spending by type of intervention (e.g., prevention, treatment, recovery support, etc.) and the populations targeted by the spending (e.g., justice-involved individuals, individuals seeking treatment, adolescents, etc.). We use statistical techniques to associate changes in key population health measures to the interventions, with the goal of assessing real world effectiveness.
Stakeholder Perspective: This research is conducted from the perspective of county governments in Pennsylvania. This study explores how to effectively structure and allocate damage awards to address important population and public health outcomes.
Code
IC7
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health
Topic Subcategory
Public Health
Disease
Mental Health (including addition), No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas