Associations between partisan media consumption, opioid use disorder stigma, and opioid policy support: An exploration of the media's role in the ongoing opioid epidemic

Alex Kresovich; Sherry L Emery; Mateusz Borowiecki; Cedasia McQueen; Marie Ngobo-Ekamby; Phoebe A Lamuda; Bruce G Taylor; Harold A Pollack; John A Schneider

doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102430

Associations between partisan media consumption, opioid use disorder stigma, and opioid policy support: An exploration of the media's role in the ongoing opioid epidemic

Prev Med Rep. 2023 Sep 20:36:102430. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102430. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Public Health Department, NORC at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
² Urban Health Lab, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
³ Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁴ Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁵ Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

Abstract

We report on a preliminary investigation into the relationship between partisan media consumption (PMC) among U.S. adults and their (1) opioid use disorder (OUD) stigma, (2) national OUD policy support (e.g., Medicaid coverage for OUD treatment), (3) local OUD policy support (e.g., safe injection sites), (4) discriminatory OUD policies (e.g., denying housing), and (5) carceral OUD policies (e.g., jailing people who use opioids). We performed a cross-sectional survey of a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults (n = 6,515) from October 1-November 19, 2021. We surveyed a sample of U.S. adults ages 18 and older drawn from NORC's AmeriSpeak® Panel. AmeriSpeak is a probability-based ongoing panel of over 40,000 households designed to represent the U.S. household population. Cross-sectional analyses revealed significant relationships between PMC and OUD stigma (b = 0.29, p <.001, CI₉₅ = 0.14,0.43), support for national (b = -0.31, p <.01, CI₉₅ = -0.54,-0.09) and local policy responses (b = -0.38, p <.001, CI₉₅ = -0.59,-0.17), and support for discriminatory opioid use disorder policies (b = 0.27, p <.01, CI₉₅ = 0.07,0.45). After controlling for self-reported political affiliation and other potential covariates, Republican-leaning media consumption was significantly associated with increased OUD stigma, less support for national and local harm reduction or rehabilitative policies, and more support for discriminatory policies against individuals experiencing OUD. The opposite associations were observed for Democratic-leaning media consumption. Markers for racism mediated the relationship between PMC and support for carceral policies (indirect path b = -0.41,p <.001, CI₉₅ = -0.50,-0.31). Our results indicate that public health advocates must collaborate with conservative leaders to find bipartisan common ground for targeted communication campaigns.

Keywords: Mass media; Opioid; Partisan media consumption; Policy; Stigma.

Grants and funding

U2C DA050098/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States