Grant #: 75135
Grantee Institution: Emory University
Principal Investigator: Jason Hockenberry, Ph.D.
Data set: Health Care Cost Institute
Grant Period: 12/15/17 – 12/14/18
Budget: $125,797
The goal of the study is to inform policymakers, pediatric surgeons, and the opioid research community regarding variation in pediatric prescribing practices nationwide and the prevalence of new, persistent opioid acquisition in the pediatric population. Nearly half a million adolescents report non-medical use of prescription opioids, and adolescents and young adults represent one of the most rapidly growing opiate abuse demographics. Surgical procedures represent a key pathway by which patients are introduced to opiates. While existing evidence documents wide variation in opiate prescribing practices in the adult surgical population, few existing studies examine opioid prescribing practices for pediatric surgical patients. In this project, the researchers will use data from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) to quantify opioid prescribing practices for 11 common surgeries performed in children and assess associated outcomes, including subsequent health care utilization and long term prescription opioid acquisition. They will also use quasi-experimental modelling approaches to examine the relationship between the opioid prescribing policy environment in a given state/core-based statistical area and opioid prescribing patterns. Deliverables will include a project work plan and final narrative and financial reports. The researchers will also produce paper(s) suitable for publication and present findings at national research meetings and to other stakeholder audiences as appropriate, including policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels and other key stakeholders, as part of the deliverables for this grant.
Publications
Opioid Fills in Children Undergoing Surgery from 2011 to 2014
Annals of Surgery | June 2019