Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Nov 10;52(13):1701-1711.
doi: 10.1080/10826084.2017.1306563. Epub 2017 Jun 16.

Opioid-Involved Overdose Among Male Afghanistan/Iraq-Era U.S. Military Veterans: A Multidimensional Perspective

Affiliations

Opioid-Involved Overdose Among Male Afghanistan/Iraq-Era U.S. Military Veterans: A Multidimensional Perspective

Alex S Bennett et al. Subst Use Misuse. .

Abstract

Background: Mirroring nationwide trends in a broad range of U.S. populations, an alarming number of Afghanistan/Iraq-era U.S. Military veterans have experienced opioid-related overdoses. A growing body of research has examined the proximal behaviors that can precipitate an overdose; considerably less is known about more distal physiological, psychosocial and structural influences on these risk behaviors.

Objectives: This study adopts a multidimensional approach to better understand opioid-related overdose among U.S. Military veterans, and seeks to explore not only the proximal behavioral precipitants of overdose events, but also the complex nexus of physiological, psychological, and sociological influences that undergird overdose events.

Methods: This qualitative examination is based on interview data from 36 male veterans who were discharged from the military after September 2001 and experienced at least one opioid-related overdose during or after military service. Participants were recruited in New York City during 2014 to share narrative accounts of their overdoses.

Results: Veterans' accounts indicate that background experiences, such as self-medication for social and psychological pain, trauma, social alienation and isolation, and histories of illicit drug use, precondition the more immediate factors and behaviors that precipitate overdose (including bingeing on drugs, mixing drugs, naiveté about dosage, and ambivalence about life/death).

Conclusions: Findings suggest the need for comprehensive drug safety and overdose education that is sensitive to veterans' physiological, psychological, and sociological conditions. A multidimensional understanding of the distal and proximal overdose risks faced by veterans and other vulnerable groups may help lay a foundation for more inclusive/holistic approaches to overdose prevention and education.

Keywords: Overdose; opioids; pain management; physiological, psychological, and social conditions; polysubstance use; self-medication, U.S. military veterans.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interest

The authors have no confiicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Akbik H, Butler SF, Budman SH, Fernandez K, Katz NP, Jamison RN. Validation and clinical application of the screener and opioid assessment for patients with pain (SOAPP) Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2006;32(3):287–293. - PubMed
    1. Andrews B, Brewin C, Philpott R, Stewart L. Delayed-onset posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review of the evidence. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007;164(9):1319–1326. - PubMed
    1. Banta-Green CJ, Beletsky L, Schoeppe JA, Coffin PO, Kuszler PC. Police officers’ and paramedics’ experiences with overdose and their knowledge and opinions of Washington State’s drug overdose–naloxone–Good Samaritan law. Journal of Urban Health. 2013;90(6):1102–1111. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barber JA, Rosenheck RA, Armstrong M, Resnick SG. Monitoring the dissemination of peer support in the VA Healthcare System. Community Mental Health Journal. 2008;44(6):433–441. - PubMed
    1. Beletsky L, Davis CS, Anderson E, Burris S. The law (and politics) of safe injection facilities in the United States. American Journal of Public Health. 2008;98(2):231–237. - PMC - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources