Citation

Rowe CL, Riley ED, Eagen KV, Zevin B, Coffin PO. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019; 204: 107571.

Affiliation

San Francisco Department of Public Health, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States; University of California, San Francisco, 500 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107571

PMID

31581024

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Single room occupancy (SRO) buildings, also known as residential hotels, are a form of affordable housing common to cities in North America, and residents of these buildings face elevated rates of substance use, physical and mental multimorbidity, and mortality. Identifying distinct populations at greater risk of overdose death is crucial to the planning of interventions aiming to reduce drug-related mortality, yet no studies have assessed the population burden of overdose mortality among SRO residents. The present study quantifies and characterizes drug overdose mortality among residents of SRO buildings in a large U.S. city.

METHODS: We used mortality records and a database of SRO buildings to calculate rate ratios comparing overdose mortality due to opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine among SRO residents and non-SRO residents in San Francisco, CA 2010-2017 and assessed bivariate differences in decedent and death location characteristics between SRO resident and other overdose decedents.

RESULTS: There were 1,551 overdose deaths during the study period, with an overall rate of 21.3 per 100,000 residents (95%CI = 20.2-22.6). The rate among SRO residents (278.7, 95%CI = 252.9-306.5) was 19.3 (95%CI = 17.1-21.7) times that of non-SRO residents (21.3, 95%CI = 20.2-22.6). An additional 79 (5%) deaths among non-residents occurred in SRO buildings, and 86% of SRO resident decedents died at home compared to 64% of non-SRO residents (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Overdose mortality was substantially higher among SRO residents, who were also more likely to die from overdose at home, which highlights the need for resources and targeted interventions directed towards residents of SRO buildings.

Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

Drug overdose; Health disparities; Residential hotels; Single room occupancy (SRO) buildings; Urban health