{"624957":{"#nid":"624957","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Millions of Children Exposed to Opioid Misuse at Home, New Georgia Tech Study Reveals","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBy Michael Pearson\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMore than 3.8 million U.S. children live with an adult who is inappropriately using opioids, according to a new estimate from the Georgia Institute of Technology\u0026rsquo;s School of Public Policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study, which spans the years 2002 to 2017, also found that while fewer children are living with someone who casually misuses opioids, the number living with adults exhibiting signs of more serious abuse increased by 30% and the number living with heroin users rose 200%.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study is the first to examine the number of children living with someone inappropriately using opioids.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This study reveals the staggering extent of the opioid crisis on children in the United States, an epidemic that is likely to have costly long-term implications for child welfare agencies, schools, the health care sector, and most of all, on children,\u0026rdquo; said Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Lindsey Bullinger, who co-authored the study with Coady Wing of Indiana University. \u0026ldquo;It is crucial that policymakers and practitioners have this information to understand the extent of child exposure to opioid abuse at home.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EExposure to Opioids Falling, but More Children Living With Heroin Users\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe survey found that the number of children in the United States living with someone misusing opioids declined, falling from 3.43 million in 2002 to 3.33 million in 2017. However, the number of children living with someone with opioid use disorder increased by 30%, rising from 423,000 in 2002 to 548,000 in 2017.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOpioid misuse is defined as the use, even once, of opioids prescribed for someone else or only for the feeling it causes. Opioid use disorder applies to someone who exhibits symptoms of abuse or dependency.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study, which draws on data from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nsduhweb.rti.org\/respweb\/homepage.cfm\u0022\u003ENational Survey of Drug Use and Health\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/acs\u0022\u003EAmerican Community Survey\u003C\/a\u003E, also found that 198,000 children were living with a heroin user in 2017. That number was up 200% from 2002.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong other findings contained in the study:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EAmong children living with an adult who abuses opioids, about a one third likely live with multiple adult abusers of opioids.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EThe decline in opioid misuse is largest among one-child households.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EAmong adults living in childless households, about 52 in every 1,000 misused opioids in 2017. In households with children, about 46 of every 1,000 adults misused opioids. That number fell over 15 years examined in the study.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EOpioid use disorder is much less common. About 8 of every 1,000 adults living in households with children had opioid use disorder in 2017. That number rose between 2002 and 2017.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EThe rate of heroin use in childless households grew from two in every 1,000 adults in 2002 to 5.6 in every 1,000 adults in 2017.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003ERecent Georgia Tech Research Examined Opioid Epidemic Costs\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.drugabuse.gov\/drugs-abuse\/opioids\/opioid-overdose-crisis\u0022\u003E130 people die each day\u003C\/a\u003E from opioid overdoses. The Institute, citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, estimates prescription opioid abuse exacts an economic toll of $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2018, Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/ganz\u0022\u003EAssistant Professor Scott Ganz\u003C\/a\u003E, Bullinger\u0026rsquo;s colleague in the School of Public Policy, published research estimating that the county- and state-level costs related to the opioid epidemic can be as much as $8,734 per resident.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong other findings, Ganz\u0026rsquo; and Alex Brill, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, determined that Iowa and Nebraska had the lowest per resident costs among states, while West Virginia had the highest overall cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo read more about Ganz\u0026rsquo;s research, read \u0026ldquo;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/stories\/2018\/3\/school-public-policy-professor-helps-pin-county-level-costs-opioid\/604063\u0022\u003ESchool of Public Policy Professor Helps Pin Down County-Level Costs of Opioid Epidemic\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBullinger and Wing\u0026rsquo;s paper, \u0026ldquo;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0190740919302737?via%3Dihub\u0022\u003EHow Many Children Live with Adults with Opioid Use Disorder\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026rdquo; is\u0026nbsp;in the September 2019 edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003EChildren and Youth Services Review.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Public Policy is a unit of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFewer children are living with opioid abusers, but the number of kids living with heroin users continues to rise, according to a new study from Lindsey Bullinger in the School of Public Policy and her co-author Coady Wing at Indiana University.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The study is from Lindsey Bullinger of the School of Public Policy and a co-author from Indiana University."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2019-08-21 21:04:43","changed_gmt":"2019-09-24 21:07:21","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"618472":{"id":"618472","type":"image","title":"Lindsey Bullinger","body":null,"created":"1551198284","gmt_created":"2019-02-26 16:24:44","changed":"1551198284","gmt_changed":"2019-02-26 16:24:44","alt":"A portrait photo of School of Public Policy assistant professor Lindsey Bullinger","file":{"fid":"235409","name":"lindsey_bullinger.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lindsey_bullinger.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lindsey_bullinger.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":16528,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lindsey_bullinger.jpg?itok=zUDigRH0"}}},"media_ids":["618472"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/stories\/2019\/6\/georgia-tech-scholar-publishes-study-paid-family-leave-impact-maternal\/622164","title":"Georgia Tech Scholar Publishes First-Ever Study of Paid Family Leave\u2019s Impact on Maternal Mental Health"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1289","name":"School of Public Policy"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"177498","name":"opioids"},{"id":"13904","name":"addiction"},{"id":"182096","name":"heroin"},{"id":"180660","name":"lindsey bullinger"},{"id":"167078","name":"School of Public Policy"},{"id":"1616","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichael Pearson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nmichael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404.894-2290\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}