Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Wen-Hung Kuo

Abstract

Many accidental deaths have recently occurred in Indiana due to opioid overdose. The current study sought to assess the association between sociodemographic factors, health insurance, and successful treatment completion for opioids abusers in Indiana based on the existing literature gap. In this study, the dependent variables considered were treatment completion status and opioid abuse. The independent variables included health insurance coverage and sociodemographic factors of education, marital status, employment status, race, gender, and age. I measured both dependent and independent variables as categorical. A cross-sectional and quantitative research approach was used by analyzing data from the 2017-Treatment Episode Data Set Discharges (TEDS-D) using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0.Descriptive statistics, chi-square, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression were applied to evaluate the association. Significant findings revealed that individuals in “not in labor force” were 2.0 times more likely [OR=2.042, 95% CI (1.853, 2.252), p<0.0001], unemployed were 1.8 times more likely [OR=1.785, 95% CI (1.662, 1.916), p<0.0001], and part-timers were 1.4 times more likely [OR=1.406, 95% (1.269, 1.557), p<0.0001] to complete treatment compared to full-time workers. The outcomes showed that compared to insured, uninsured individuals were less likely [OR=0.704, 95% CI (0.662, 0.749), p<0.0001] to complete treatment. Intervention plans such as increasing screening among vulnerable populations, mass education, and advocacy for health insurance coverage could promote positive social change by decreasing opioid-related mortality and improving treatment outcomes in Indiana.

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