The Opioid Overdose Mapping Tool

The University of Chicago has released a novel interactive map that looks at the rates of drug overdose deaths inwards Appalachia. The national crisis inwards opioid addiction is peculiarly severe inwards Appalachia, where people are 55% to a greater extent than probable to leave of absence from a drug overdose than inwards the balance of the country.

The Overdose Mapping Tool helps to pose overdose hot-spots inwards Appalachia in addition to allows yous to explore the underlying socio-economic in addition to demographic factors which may play a role inwards creating these hot-spots. The map provides a choropleth stance of the overdose mortality charge per unit of measurement inwards each Appalachian county.

Using the map sidebar yous tin pick out to also stance a publish of socio-economic in addition to demographic county information on the map. This allows yous to discover the frequently rigid correlation betwixt poverty in addition to unemployment rates alongside overdose mortality rates. Low college attendance in addition to high rates of disabilities also seem to endure mutual inwards the counties alongside the highest overdose mortality rates.


Last twelvemonth BuzzFeed mapped the US Counties Prescribing Way More Opioids Than Others. The map shows that doctors are prescribing opioids heavily inwards Appalachia, peculiarly inwards the almost southern counties. However the map reveals that in that place are many other regions inwards the province where opioid prescription rates are also really high.

The BuzzFeed article quotes the CDC every bit maxim that the higher prescribing counties are frequently marked past times higher rates of arthritis, diabetes in addition to unemployment. It thence looks similar to a greater extent than or less of the same socio-economic factors are at play inwards U.S. prescription rates every bit inwards the overdose mortality rates inwards Appalachia.


Last twelvemonth U.S. Senator for Utah Mike Lee also released an interactive map showing Unintentional Opioid Overdose Deaths. The map uses mortality information from the Centers for Disease Control in addition to Prevention.

The senator's Leaflet map shows the ascent inwards opioid overdose deaths at county grade from 1979 to 2015. Using the timeline yous tin select to stance the publish of overdose deaths for whatsoever 5 twelvemonth menses inwards these years. If yous press the play push yous tin stance an animated loop of the information from 1979 to 2015.

You tin click on a county on the map to stance the county expiry charge per unit of measurement per 100,000 inhabitants for whatsoever of the mapped 5 twelvemonth periods. Some counties are grayed out on the map for confidentiality reasons. This is where the publish of deaths is then small-scale that the deceased could endure easily identified.