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Exploring opioid addictions and responsibilities: almost lost in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic

Alan David Smith (Department of Marketing, Robert Morris University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States)

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare

ISSN: 2056-4902

Article publication date: 3 September 2021

Issue publication date: 24 February 2022

113

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight the overshadowing of the opioid crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic. Opioids are affecting increasing numbers as the current opioid overdose death rate is increasing to 209 per day. While there appears light shining on the end of the Covid-19 pandemic with the advent of a fourth vaccine, there is no such light for the opioid epidemic. Based on a sample of 603 relatively educated adults in NE Ohio, the health harm caused by both crises, prescribing physician blaming, high levels of income loss and physical and emotional burdens shared by the respondents were obvious and striking.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Bertram et al. (2014) theory of the blame model, the number of results concerning gender and personally involvement of friends and family members, including men empathy increased with greater knowledge of numbers of addicted opioid users in their personal contracts.

Findings

Unfortunately, many women had to remain home taking care of children and elderly loved ones at greater percentages than their male counterparts may account for less empathy as such addicted users have become a burden to economically impaired families. This tendency for placing blame for circumstances with twin crises appears to follow a relatively predictable path as modeled by Bertram et al. (2014) (i.e. denial, justification and excuse).

Originality/value

These are few studies that are studying the amplification effects of the Covid-19 pandemic context on the current opioid crisis.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to offer thanks for the valuable contributions by the editor and peer reviewers for their input into the final paper. Peer reviewing and editing are commonly tedious and thankless tasks.

Citation

Smith, A.D. (2022), "Exploring opioid addictions and responsibilities: almost lost in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 41-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-03-2021-0067

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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