State Health Compare

The Evolving Opioid Epidemic: Observing the Changes in the Opioid Crisis through State-level Data (Webinar)

On September 4th, Senior Research Fellow Colin Planalp examined the U.S. opioid epidemic through national and state-level data on drug overdose deaths, including opioids such as prescription painkillers, heroin and synthetic opioids, and non-opioids (but related drugs) such as cocaine and psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine). Using data available through SHADAC’s State Health Compare, the webinar detailed changing trends in the opioid crisis and how the specifics vary across states—both in the scale of the epidemic and differences in the top substances of concern.

Mr. Planalp was joined by SHADAC Research Fellow Robert Hest, who explained how to access and use the data on opioid-related overdose deaths through SHADAC’s State Health Compare website. Mr. Hest also provided an overview of related measures available on State Health Compare, such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) data on sales of common prescription opioid painkillers. View a recording of the webinar and download the presentation slides here.

State Health Compare now contains 50 measures on a range of topics including health insurance coverage; cost of care; health behaviors; health outcomes; access to and utilization of care; care quality; public health; and social and economic determinants of health. These measures come from 17 data sources and are available for timespans ranging from 4 to 17 years. See a full breakdown of measures, data sources, and data years available.

Welcome to SHADAC's State Health Compare!

State Health Compare expands the health care discussion beyond a focus on coverage and allows analysts and policymakers to view state-level data on a wide range of topics through a broader Culture of Health lens. You can view data through maps, bar charts, trends, and tables. It's easy to explore within your state as well as compare across states and over time.