Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2017
Abstract
Montgomery County, Ohio, has higher overdose rates than the national or state averages: approximately 50% are related to prescription opioid misuse. A community assessment was conducted to better understand Montgomery County’s adult population’s connection with, and opinions of, prescription opioid medications. Methods: Data for 284 anonymous internet surveys were compiled and subjected to a descriptive analysis of responses and trends. Response patterns were used to recommend appropriate interventions. Results: Respondents were well-educated (91.9%), employed (76.7%), Caucasian (89.8%), females (79.2%) who resided (82%) and worked (66.5%) in Montgomery County (82%). The risk from personal misuse of prescription opioids was perceived by 91.0% of respondents, but only 77.7% incorporated mitigating behaviors. A large majority of respondents perceived the risk of sharing prescription opioids (87.6% giving, 85.2% receiving). However, fewer (71.9% giving, and 70.8%, receiving), respondents engaged in mitigating practices. The risk of taking prescription medications for reasons other than their intended use was recognized by 94.2% of the respondents. Nearly all (91%) respondents reported never taking prescription opioids for reasons other than their intended use. The vast majority (92%) of respondents disagreed with the notion that prescription medications should be accessible to everyone, yet only 35.3% stored medications securely. Similarly, 64.9% of respondents indicated that keeping unused prescription opioids was unacceptable, only 34.6% used opioid medication disposal sites. Conclusion: Respondents, despite having good risk perception, did not report mitigating behaviors to match risk perception. Prevention measures impact behavior are recommended to curbing the opioid epidemic versus education-only interventions.
Repository Citation
Nussbaum, L. (2017). Analysis of the 2017 Montgomery County Adult Risk Perception of Prescription Opioid Misuse Survey Data. Wright State University. Dayton, Ohio.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
