Ohioans without opioid addiction treatment near home are less likely to maintain their sobriety, and Ohio State University researchers found these provider "deserts" throughout Franklin County.
An area is considered a desert if the distance from a person's home to a provider is a mile or more away, a two-minute drive by car or more than 30 minutes away on public transportation, according to a study published Wednesday in the medical journal PLOS ONE. Research has shown the likelihood of someone staying in treatment drops by up to 50% when a treatment provider is more than a mile away.
"The main message is that opioid treatment deserts exist in Franklin County," said Dr. Ayaz Hyder, an assistant professor in Ohio State’s College of Public Health who led the study. "They are spread out; they're not concentrated in one specific area … they are everywhere."