Dr. Latika Davis-Jones, Secretary of the PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, left, and Louisa Holmes, Penn State University geographer and demographer | PA.gov / Geog.psu.edu
Dr. Latika Davis-Jones, Secretary of the PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, left, and Louisa Holmes, Penn State University geographer and demographer | PA.gov / Geog.psu.edu
Blair County had 2,718 residents with an opioid drug use disorder in the year 2020.
That’s according to an analysis of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Opioid Data Dashboard by the Altoona Times.
2020 is the most recent year listed on the dashboard.
“Drug Use Disorder is defined as any substance use disorder not including alcohol use disorder,” according to the Commonwealth’s website. “This is an approximation for Opioid Use Disorder prevalence.”
The Commonwealth derives estimates for each county in Pennsylvania using the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics “mortality weights,” combined with the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).
Statewide, opioid drug use disorders increased from 295,000 in 2016 to 316,000 in 2019.
Opioid-related deaths rose sharply in Pennsylvania between 2010 and 2019, with the rate of deaths nearly quintupling from 5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2010 to 23.7 deaths per in 2019, wrote Penn State University geographer and demographer Louisa Holmes in a May 11, 2023 GoErie op-ed.
Those numbers then rose to 42.5 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 people in 2020.
Statewide, the Commonwealth addresses opioid addictions through the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), which provides funding to 47 county-level "Single County Authorities (SCAs)", which coordinate local behavioral treatment and recovery services. The DDAP is currently headed by Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones.
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How many opioid drug use disorders were in each Pennsylvania county in 2020?
Source: PA Opioid Data Dashboard
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