Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Canada has been home to a growing opioid crisis for over a decade. Contributors to the current crisis are complex and may include social factors that shape vulnerability to drug-related harm. Marginalization, the process in which individuals are deemed irrelevant to society based on their social labels or identities, is one such factor, as marginalized groups are at higher risk of developing poor health outcomes. Studies suggest that socioeconomic marginalization may be associated with higher risks of opioid use disorder and opiate overdoses. However, research surrounding this association, as well as how different types of marginalization may affect the risk of opioid-related outcomes for people of varying ethnic backgrounds and genders, remains severely underdeveloped. This is crucial, as the risk of opioid outcomes may be exacerbated by the intersection of these social identities. This study aims to investigate the effect of multiple types of marginalization on the risk of opioid use disorder and opiate overdose, as well as how gender impacts this effect. I hypothesize that those who experience a greater number of marginalized identities will be at increased risk of these opioid-related outcomes, and that the most marginalized men will be at the highest risk of these outcomes. Data will be obtained from IC/ES Queen’s. Information on economic, ethno-racial, and social marginalization will be attained from the Ontario Marginalization Index. Data analysis will be performed using a hierarchical regression model. Identifying populations at elevated risk of opioid-related outcomes informs public health policy. Considering the lack of intersectional scholarship focused on marginalization and the opioid crisis, this research will fill a large gap in the literature.