Dueling public health crises: Overdoses and firearm injuries a deadly combination in Indianapolis

Drug overdoses and shootings are two of America's most dire public health crises - and the two issues often intersect, according to a 2022 study.

Researchers studied two years worth of data in Indianapolis and found that 75% of census tracts in the city had both high rates of firearm injuries and of opioid overdoses. Rates for both were two times higher in these areas compared to citywide rates, according to the study.

"Drug overdose and firearm injury are two of the United States' most unrelenting public health crises, both of which have been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic," the study's authors wrote. "Programs and policies typically focus on each epidemic, alone, which may produce less efficient interventions if overlap does exist."

These findings are yet another example of how gun violence often coincides with other major public health crises.

For health care reporters, this study offers an opportunity to explore the other risks facing people struggling with addiction. Or, it could be a way to explore potential solutions to both crises. Are there groups working on tackling both? Are there overdose prevention advocates and violence prevention advocates interested in collaborating?

Methodology

The study, led by then-Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, looked at data from census tracts in Indianapolis from 2018 to 2020. Researchers determined that "indicators of structural disadvantage and structural racism" are also higher in these areas with high rates of overdoses and firearm injuries.

Drug overdoses are also associated with a future firearm injury, researchers concluded. They encouraged prevention strategies that combine responses to shootings and overdoses.

In a similar vein, a study published in May found that from 1999 to 2020, an estimated 1.19 million children lost a parent to drug poisoning or firearm violence in the U.S. Read our analysis of the study here.

Contextualizing the findings

Firearm violence and drug overdoses have been dismissed as health issues for decades. Only in recent years have both been more embraced as public health issues in the mainstream.

A strong example of reporting on this issue came from Fairriona Magee at The Trace. She wrote about the study and spoke with people on the ground in Indianapolis.

In her article, "In Indianapolis, Drugs and Guns Converge, but Solutions Remain Disjointed," Magee interviewed a community leader who really understands how firearm violence and opioid overdoses converge in Indianapolis. She also chatted with the researchers involved in this study, striking a balance between the local and traditional experts.

"Drugs and gun violence have gone together for decades from a crime perspective," Lauren Magee, the lead researcher of the study, told Fairriona Magee. "They kind of feed each other in that narrative, but they are never looked at from the public health perspective."

A founder of an Indianapolis violence prevention organization also explained the ripple effects.

"The drugs bring the money, which results in things like envy or competition, which ultimately leads to the violence," Antonio Patton told Magee. "They all go hand-in-hand."

The researchers told Magee that while these two issues are converging into a crisis, resources are thin and responses from prevention groups and law enforcement are disparate.

The study presents a good jumping off point for journalists to explore how firearm injuries and opioid overdoses intersect. One idea is to explore if there are other organizations focused on both overdose and gun violence prevention and report on their efforts. Another is to dig into other research and data on overdoses and shootings to see if there are other areas with overlap like in Indianapolis.

Resources

• Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions is the merger of two leading research institutions: the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. The collaboration brings together respected gun violence researchers and prevention advocates to examine and promote policies and programs to improve community safety.
  • Contact: Joe McHugh, [email protected]
• University of California Davis Violence Prevention Research Program focuses on research and policy development, particularly on firearm violence and the causes, consequences and prevention of violence. The program helped to develop the public health approach to violence in the 1980s and continues to apply that framework in their research. It also explores the connection between violence, substance abuse and mental illness.
• Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting was founded to explore the idea that better gun violence reporting can improve public understanding and support effective programs and policies to prevent shootings. A part of the Center's mission is to determine whether changing the practice of news reporting can prevent gun violence. The Center provides tips for better reporting practices and supports research on how the news media improve their coverage of gun violence.