Assessing the impact of the Good Samaritan Law in the state of Connecticut: a system dynamics approach

Health Research Policy and Systems

Jennifer Walker¹  Gail D’Onofrio²  Rebekah Heckmann²  Robert Heimer³  Nasim S. Sabounchi⁴ 

[1] Binghamton University-State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, United States of America;Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America;Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States of America;Department of Health Policy and Management, Center for Systems and Community Design, City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, 55 W. 125th Street, 10027, New York, NY, United States of America;

关键词: Opioid use disorder;    Emergency medicine;    Health policy simulation;    System dynamics modelling;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12961-021-00807-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAlthough Good Samaritan laws (GSLs) have been widely adopted throughout the United States, their efficacy in individual states is often unknown. This paper offers an approach for assessing the impact of GSLs and insight for policy-makers and public health officials who wish to know whether they should expect to see outcomes from similar policy interventions.MethodsUtilizing a system dynamics (SD) modeling approach, the research team conducted a policy evaluation to determine the impact of GSLs on opioid use disorder (OUD) in Connecticut and evaluated the GSL based upon the following health outcomes: (1) emergency department (ED) visits for overdose, (2) behavioral changes of bystanders, and (3) overdose deaths.ResultsThe simulation model suggests that Connecticut’s GSL has not yet affected overdose deaths but has resulted in bystander behavioral changes, such as increased 911 calls for overdose. ED visits have increased as the number of opioid users has increased.ConclusionsThe simulation results indicate that the number of opioid-related deaths will continue to increase and that the GSL alone cannot effectively control the crisis. However, the SD approach that was used will allow policymakers to evaluate the effectiveness of the GSL over time using a simulation framework. This SD model demonstrates great potential by producing simulations that allow policymakers to assess multiple strategies for combating the opioid crisis and select optimal public health interventions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY