337985
Non–Medical Use of Prescription Drugs in the Workplace
University scholars and community members formed the Prescription Drug Abuse and Misuse Working Group in response to the prescription drug abuse/misuse epidemic plaguing the Appalachian region. Their collaboration has yielded no fewer than four funded and six volunteer service projects in the community. A concern voiced by key community stakeholders has been the non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) among the workforce. The team discovered that the relationship between NMUPD and workplace characteristics is understudied. This study aimed to show the overall and industry-specific prevalence of NMUPD, and to examine workplace characteristics associated with NMUPD.
methods
Data from the 2011-2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were used. Multiple logistic regression assessed workplace characteristics on past-year NMUPD among employed adults 18 years and older, controlling for demographic variables.
results
The overall prevalence of NMUPD was 9.23% (95% CI: 8.98-9.48). The industries with the highest prevalence were: arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services (14.48%; 95% CI: 13.70-15.27), construction (10.82%; 95% CI: 9.77-11.87), and retail trade (10.04%; 95% CI: 9.34-10.74). NMUPD was significantly associated with industry type (p<0.001), but not business sector or size. NMUPD was significantly more likely among adults reporting no written alcohol or drug use workplace policy (OR=1.15; 95% CI: 1.05-1.25) and no employee assistance or counseling program (OR=1.10; 95% CI: 1.01-1.19).
conclusions
Results suggest alcohol or drug use workplace policies and employee assistance or other counseling programs may protect against NMUPD. Workplace prevention efforts for NMUPD could benefit from incorporating these approaches.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsPublic health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe the prevalence of the non-medical use of prescription drugs in the workplace among employed adults 18 years and older.
Identify workplace characteristics associated with the non-medical use of prescription drugs among employed adults 18 years and older.
Keyword(s): Prescription Drug Abuse and Misuse
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral student in Public Health at East Tennessee State University. My research interests and activities are centered on prescription drug abuse and misuse. Additionally, I am graduate assistant on a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Diversity-promoting Institutions Drug Abuse Research Program (DIDARP) (Grant Number 1R24DA036409-01).
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.