The Fight Against Opioids Epidemic: Americans’ Views on Community Involvement.

The opioid epidemic has affected Americans of all ages, social classes, and communities. Many different policies and programs have been implemented in the past with the overarching goal of minimizing the destructive impact of the opioid crisis. This paper examines factors that determine Americans' views on how their communities have been involved in the fight against the opioid epidemic, controlling for the perceived levels of substance use in the community, political affiliations, and demographic factors. Data came from an AP-NORC poll (Pharmaceutical companies and drug users most often blamed for opioid crisis) conducted in April 2019. Results show the complexity and the multifaceted nature of the opioid crisis. Binary logistic analysis was used. While different factors significantly explain the assessments of community members, depending on the policy being used, some factors consistently significantly explain their views regardless of the policy. Overall, results indicate that different opinions are shared depending on Americans' political, residential, and social characteristics as well as the community exposure to substance use. Several policy recommendations are made. This study adds to the body of literature on the opioid crisis and communities' assessment of what has been done to help stop the crisis.