Yong, T.C. ,Kim, S. and Shoff, C.  <br/><br/>
Income inequality and opioid prescribing rates: Exploring rural/urban differences in pathways via residential stability and social isolation 

 - Rural Sociology   
 - 86(1), Mar, 2021: p.26-49 
<br/><br/> While opioid prescribing rates have drawn researchers' atten-<br/>tion, little is known about the mechanisms through which income inequal-<br/>ity affects opioid prescribing rates and even less focuses on whether there<br/>is a rural/urban difference in mediating pathways. Applying mediation<br/>analysis techniques to a unique ZIP code level dataset from several sources<br/>maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, we explicitly<br/>examine two mechanisms through residential stability and social isolation by<br/>rural/urban status and find that (1) income inequality is not directly related<br/>to opioid prescribing rates, but it exerts its influence on opioid prescribing<br/>via poor residential stability and elevated social isolation; (2) social isolation<br/>accounts for two-thirds of the mediating effect of income inequality on opioid<br/>prescribing rates among urban ZIP codes, but the proportion halves among<br/>rural ZIP codes; (3) residential stability plays a larger role in understanding<br/>how income inequality matters in rural than in urban ZIP codes; and (4) ben-<br/>eficiary characteristics only matter in urban ZIP codes. These findings offer<br/>nuanced insight into how income inequality affects opioid prescribing rates<br/>and suggests that the determinants of opioid prescribing rates vary by rural/ urban status. Future research may benefit from identifying place-specific fac-tors for opioid prescribing rates. Reproduced <br/> 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Income inequality, Opioid prescribing rates