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Occupational and Personal Challenges During the Opioid Crisis: Understanding First Responders’ Experiences and Viewpoints of Clients with Opioid Use Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2024

Ryan J. Lofaro Open the ORCID record for Ryan J. Lofaro [Opens in a new window]  and
Alka Sapat
Ryan J. Lofaro*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, USA
Alka Sapat
Affiliation:
Professor in the School of Public Administration at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA
*
Corresponding author: Ryan J. Lofaro; Email: rlofaro@georgiasouthern.edu.
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Abstract

Objectives:

This study provides preliminary findings on the experiences of first responders during the opioid crisis and their viewpoints regarding whether clients with opioid use disorder deserve medical rehabilitation. Understanding associations between first responder experiences and viewpoints of client deservedness can help reduce stigma, improve compassionate care, and identify training gaps.

Methods:

Analyses were run with data from a nationwide survey of Emergency Medical Services-providers and law enforcement workers collected from August to November 2022 (N = 3836). The study used univariate statistics and ordered logistic regression to understand first responders’ experiences and viewpoints on client deservedness, as well as the relationship between the two.

Results:

Results show a negative correlation between responding to overdose calls and perceiving clients with opioid use disorder as deserving of medical rehabilitation. Law enforcement, males, and conservatives also had negative viewpoints. Conversely, having a friend experience addiction and believing addiction has had a direct impact on respondents’ lives predicted increases in client deservedness.

Conclusions:

Policy should focus on creating spaces where first responders can have positive interactions with people who use drugs or are in recovery. Better training is needed to help first responders manage on-the-job stressors and understand the complexities of addiction.

Keywords

opioid crisisfirst respondersopioid use disorderlived experiencedeservedness
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e93
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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