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The report provides the results of an analysis of secondary data to understand how nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers varied across states, industries and occupations, and other worker characteristics.

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Research Questions

• How does nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers among U.S. workers vary across states?
• How does nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers among U.S. workers vary across industry, occupations, and other individual characteristics?
• How well do individual- and state-level factors explain the overall variation in nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers?

Key Takeaways

• Nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers varied widely across states; it also varied considerably by workers' industry, occupation, and demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
• States that have higher proportions of workers with less than high school education, in the construction industry, or in public administration, tend to have higher levels of nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers.
• States that have higher proportions of workers ages 50 to 64; higher proportions of workers who are Black, non-Hispanic, or Hispanic; or more hospitals per capita; tend to have lower levels of nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers.
• Differences in nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers between industries and occupations are largely explained by demographic differences between workers in those industries and occupations.
• Policies to prevent nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers among U.S. workers might need to consider individual risk factors beyond occupation and industry.
• Regional influences on access to health care should be considered in policies designed to prevent nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers.
• The report analyses did not include use of heroin or illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids and stopped in 2014, so do not fully capture how the opioid crisis has shifted in the last decade. Future research could examine broader types of opioids, including heroin and fentanyl.

Citation

Zhu, W., Shenk, M., Ben-Shalom, Y., Shaw, W. (2021) Mathematica. Factors Contributing to Variation in Nonmedical Use of Prescription Pain Relievers Among U.S. Workers: 2004–2014. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.