Behavioral Health Business September 18, 2024
Youth opioid overdoses resulting in an encounter with emergency medical services (EMS) spiked significantly during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These encounters have now largely stabilized, though they remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic rates, according to a new study published in JAMA Network.
“Prehospital encounters for youth opioid overdoses were increasing prior to the pandemic, increased with the onset, and then stabilized, remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels,” the study’s authors wrote. “Although overall patterns were largely driven by those aged 18 through 24 years, adolescents aged 12 through 17 years were the only subgroup with an increasing number of encounters both before and during the pandemic.”
Researchers analyzed 91,700 youth opioid overdose encounters with EMS for people under 24...
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