According to an ARC commissioned study announced today by Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear and ARC Federal Co-Chair Anne Pope, Appalachia suffers from disproportionately high rates of substance use and mental health disorders, including the alarmingly increasing abuse of prescription painkillers.
Conducted for ARC by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, the study also reveals that Appalachia is doing better than the rest of the nation in terms of access to treatment for substance use and mental health problems.
The study analyzes the disparities in mental health status and substances abuse prevalence, as well as access to treatment services, across the 410 counties and 13 states of Appalachia by using community hospital discharge data, national household survey data, and treatment episode data.
To supplement quantitative data sources, case studies were conducted in partnership with East Tennessee State University (ETSU) to gather additional information.
The study’s findings demonstrate particular disparities associated with Appalachian sub-regions, county economic distress level, and within coal-mining areas that all confirm the presence of a place-based disparity in the Region.
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