{"id":506,"date":"2024-02-23T11:54:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T11:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/23\/about-42-of-us-adults-know-someone-who-died-by-overdose-new-survey-finds\/"},"modified":"2024-02-23T11:54:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T11:54:47","slug":"about-42-of-us-adults-know-someone-who-died-by-overdose-new-survey-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/23\/about-42-of-us-adults-know-someone-who-died-by-overdose-new-survey-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"About 42% of US adults know someone who died by overdose, new survey finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Emergency physician <\/strong>Dr. Gail D\u2019Onofrio has seen the grief and heartache firsthand, she said. Each time, the same questions are asked through tears: What else could I have done? <\/p>\n

A mother who has lost her child to a drug overdose might ask, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t I see the signs?\u201d Or a friend might question, \u201cCould I have intervened in some way?\u201d <\/p>\n

Almost half \u2013 about 42% \u2013 of adults in the United States say they personally know at least one person who died from a drug overdose, according to survey findings published Wednesday by the nonprofit research institute RAND Corporation. <\/p>\n

The report found that <\/strong>among adults who reported knowing someone who died by overdose, the average number of lives lost whom they knew was two \u2013 which illustrates the \u201cfar-reaching consequences\u201d of the nation\u2019s overdose crisis. <\/p>\n

Just a few weeks ago in Connecticut, loved ones were affected when someone using cocaine laced with fentanyl died of an overdose, said D\u2019Onofrio, who is also a professor at Yale School of Medicine and an <\/strong>addiction specialist at Yale New Haven Hospital. She was not involved in the new RAND report. <\/p>\n

\u201cLately, there\u2019s been so many overdose deaths that were inadvertent. People were using another drug like cocaine, which is adulterated with fentanyl. Or they\u2019ve taken a pill from someone that they thought was an oxycodone, and instead, it was fentanyl,\u201d D\u2019Onofrio said. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that can be deadly even in small amounts. It is about 100 times\u00a0more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen this rapid rise in deaths,\u201d D\u2019Onofrio said. \u201cAnd I think that those left behind question themselves and are always wondering, like, \u2018What could I have done to have prevented this or have intervened in some other fashion?\u2019 That\u2019s really difficult.\u201d <\/p>\n

The RAND report mentions that losing someone to overdose may be associated with developing long-term grief, substance use disorders and even suicidal ideation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis really highlights what many of us experience in the day-to-day in an emergency department \u2013 that one tragedy can often lead to many other tragedies,\u201d D\u2019Onofrio said. She applauded the new RAND survey for shedding light on what adults go through when they lose someone to overdose. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is a ripple effect,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t often think of this, even though many of us have experienced this as emergency physicians.\u201d <\/p>\n