According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 108,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2022, 76% of which involved an opioid. However, there is limited research that examines the risk factors for overdose particularly among women who may face different challenges compared to men.

“Women who use drugs are heavily stigmatized because many are also mothers. This stigma may prohibit women from seeking harm reduction programs and substance use treatment,” said Abenaa Jones, the Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Health and Human Development, assistant professor of human development and family studies and senior author of the paper.

Women who use drugs and are involved in the criminal legal system are in a particularly vulnerable state, the researchers said. Not only do they face a high chance of overdose immediately following release but involvement in the criminal legal system also imposes longer-term challenges to recovery.

“These stigmas and barriers can make it hard to attain the forms of ‘recovery capital’ that are so needed to sustain recovery,” said Kristina Brant, assistant professor of rural sociology and co-author of the study. “Finding unique ways to support this group facing so many intersecting vulnerabilities is essential to promoting well-being.”

Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 20 women with an opioid-use disorder and a history of criminal justice involvement, 12 substance-use disorder treatment professionals and 10 criminal justice professionals who have worked with women with opioid-use disorder, all of whom were based in Pennsylvania. 

The interviews explored the women’s personal experience with overdose, their use or knowledge of overdose prevention techniques and barriers faced when accessing or using those techniques or the professionals’ experience working with women with opioid use disorder. In these conversations, the researchers also parsed the challenges that pregnant people and mothers face when seeking treatment. They detailed those findings in a paper published earlier this year.