Rural Appalachia Battling the Intersection of Two Crises: COVID-19 and Substance Use Disorders

Authors

Margaret Miller, American Academy of Family PhysiciansFollow
Rebekah Rollston, Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical SchoolFollow
Kate E. Beatty, East Tennessee State UniversityFollow
Michael Meit, East Tennessee State UniversityFollow

Corresponding Author

Kate Beatty beattyk@etsu.edu

Streaming Media

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, rural Appalachia is at great risk of unforeseen side effects including increased mortality from substance use disorders (SUDs). People living with SUDs are at increased risk for both exposure to and poor outcomes from COVID infection. The economic impacts of COVID-19 must also be considered. As rural Appalachia combats the substance use crisis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the geographic economic, health and social inequities within our region must be considered. As a national recovery is sought, we should reimagine federal policies that center the economic and public health of rural Appalachia addressing the two crises.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.13023/jah.0204.10

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Miller M, Rollston R, Beatty KE, Meit M. Rural Appalachia battling the intersection of two crises: COVID-19 and substance-use disorders. J Appalach Health 2020;2(4):86–91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/jah.0204.10