Poster #149 - The Poor Got Poorer: The Impact of a Shutdown during the Opioid Crisis

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

The global COVID outbreak and subsequent lockdown of most of the world had an impact on all humans. “One year into the pandemic, over 200 million students still faced disruptions to their education”, (Almeida, Challa, Ribeiro, Harrison & Castro, 2021). With the ongoing Opioid Epidemic at the time, these additional risk factors had a cumulative and disparate impact on communities also steeped in generational trauma, poverty, and healthcare shortages (ARC, 2020). The present project will utilize survey data collected through West Virginia school systems as well as archived data from state agencies to examine disparities in academic progress psychosocial impact among children differentially impacted by the COVID shutdown in light of the ongoing impact of the Opioid Crisis in Appalachia. Data were collected through surveys of classroom teachers regarding the degree of disruption resulting from the COVID shutdown. In addition, statewide assessment data on academic progress are being collected and archived data are already available regarding the incidents of overdoses and overdose deaths resulting from the ongoing Opioid Epidemic in West Virginia. Data are being analyzed using multiple regression techniques to provide a description of the impact of these various factors on various educational progress indicators. This look into the impact of COVID on families differentially impacted by Substance Use Disorder will provide a contextualized analysis of the layering effect of severe risk factors in a population already vulnerable as a result of generational trauma, ongoing poverty, and lack of healthcare and educational resources. Implications for risk reduction policies and the need for more multi-systemic prevention approaches will be discussed.

Authors

• Conrae Lucas Adkins, Marshall University
  Presenting Author

• Marianna Footo Linz, Marshall University

• Lesley Epperly-Cottrell, West Virginia University

• Melissa S Atkins, Marshall University

• Kimberly Vance, Marshall University