Opioid control policies associated with the fall of domestic violence

A new study led by the University of Southern Florida reveals that opioid control policies can offer wider benefits for public health, including reduction in cases of domestic violence. As policymakers continue to face the opioid epidemic, this study emphasizes the power of the research to inform effective public policy.

The research conducted by USF Minglu Sun student and Andrei Barbos, Associate Professor of Finance, emphasizes how opioid abuse can cause a powerful phenomenon of ripple throughout society.

Published Health economyThe study analyzes the impact on the prevalence of domestic violence on compulsory drug monitoring programs for prescription. These opioid control programs require healthcare providers to consult a central database before prescribing opioids, helping to prevent patients to obtain multiple prescriptions from many doctors. In early 2010, states began to pass laws that have ordered these databases, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations said they were a key tool to combat opioid abuse.

The gradual development of these programs across the country has offered a unique opportunity to analyze their results over time and in various areas, which has allowed us to isolate the impact of these opioid control programs on the dominance of domestic violence, such as other economic violence.

Andrei Barbos, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Southern Florida

With data from the national -based reference system, they drafted reports of 31 states between 2007 and 2019 to create controlled models for dynamic variables, including demographic data, income, unemployment, health status, insurance coverage and overlapping regulations.

Sun and Barbos found that these opioid control programs not only limit abuse but have contributed to a 10% reduction in the prevalence of simple attacks, which account for almost 75% of domestic violence in data. Simple attacks are generally defined as an attempt to cause bodily harm to another person who does not include a weapon or leads to serious injury.

The result was stronger in states with the highest rates of prescription opioids. According to the CDC, southern states have consistently higher rates – enhancing the connection between opioid and domestic violence access.

“The previous public health literature recorded a correlation between opioid consumption and domestic violence, but the correlation does not mean a causal relationship,” Barbos said. “This article defines a causal relationship and provides those responsible for policymaking for an additional positive leak of opioid control policies, which may also be relevant to the planning of a policy surrounding the current fentaneli crisis.”