19 I PSAI Association Insight, September 15, 2021
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Recognizes Overdose Dangers for Workers
(continued from page 18)
Supported Recovery Programs use evidence-based policies
and programs to help employers assist workers in need, while
helping workers get the help they need to recover and stay or
return to work.
Those working in construction, already a high-risk profession,
have been shown to be more likely to die from an opioid-
related death than other workers
4,5
. NIOSH recently released
three videos that address this crisis. The first video, The
Evolution of a Crisis, explains how this problem came to be,
along with personal experiences from workers with SUDs.
The second video, Impacting Lives, discusses the impact
of SUD in the workers' lives and in the lives of their families
and coworkers. The last video, Pathways to Recovery, talks
about how employers can use NIOSH Workplace Supported
Recovery to help.
Workplaces are a critical point of contact for Americans
struggling with or recovering from SUD. Workplaces have the
power to provide personal, family, and community support
and to improve the well-being of all their workers. Employers
and workers should create work environments that proactively
prevent inappropriate substance use, reduce stigma, and
encourage treatment and sustained recovery. Join us as
we stand together to remember those who have lost their
lives to drug overdoses and take bold steps to create more
supportive workplaces.
REFERENCES:
1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
[2019]. Public online data analysis system (PDAS). National
Survey on Drug Use and Health: concatenated public use file
(2002 to 2019), https://www.datafiles.samhsa.gov/dataset/
nsduh-2002-2019-ds0001-nsduh-2002-2019-ds0001 (accessed
10 August 2021).
2. Mattson CL, Tanz LJ, Quinn K, Kariisa M, Patel P, Davis NL
[2021]. Trends and geographic patterns in drug and synthetic
opioid overdose deaths—United States, 2013–2019. MMWR
Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 70(6):202–207, http://doi.org/10.15585/
mmwr.mm7006a4.
3. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
[2019]. Medications for opioid use disorder save lives.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, https://doi.
org/10.17226/25310.
4. Tiesman, H.M., Konda, S., Cimineri, L., et al [2019]. Drug
overdose deaths at work, 2011–2016 Injury Prevention 2019;
25:577-580. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2018-043104
5. Hawkins D, Roelofs C, Laing J, Davis L [2019]. Opioid-related
overdose deaths by industry and occupation-Massachusetts,
2011-2015. Am J Ind Med; 62(10):815-825. https://doi.
org/10.1002/ajim.23029
