{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T05:49:11Z","timestamp":1776404951061,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDP) Public Health Agency of Canada","issue":"9","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]},"abstract":"<sec>\t\t\t\n         <title>Introduction<\/title>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p>Emergency departments (EDs) are important health care access points for people who use drugs (PWUD), but little is known about whether the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in opioid-related emergency presentations. We investigated whether (1) the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with any change in average rates of opioid-related ED visits in Alberta; and (2) this varied across regions with different COVID-19 case rates.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/sec>\t\n\t<sec>\t\t\n         <title>Methods<\/title>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p>We conducted maximum-likelihood interrupted time series analyses to compare opioid-related ED visits during the \u201cprepandemic period\u201d (3 March 2019\u20131 March 2020) and the \u201cpandemic period\u201d (2 March 2020\u201314 March 2021).<\/p>\n \t<\/sec>\t\t\n\t<sec>\t\t\n        <title>Results<\/title>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p>There were 8883 and 11 657 opioid-related ED visits during the prepandemic and pandemic periods, respectively. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in opioid-related ED visits (Edmonton: IRR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.30\u2013 1.44, p $lt; 0.05; Calgary: IRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07\u20131.20, p $lt; 0.05; Other health zones: IRR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07\u20131.21, p $lt; 0.05). Changing COVID-19 case counts did not correspond with changing rates of opioid-related ED visits across regions.<\/p> \n\t\t<\/sec>\t\n\t   <sec>\t\t\n         <title>Conclusion<\/title>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p>The increase in opioid-related ED visits associated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was unrelated to COVID-19 case prevalence in Alberta.<\/p>\n\t\t <\/sec>","DOI":"10.24095\/hpcdp.45.9.01","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T13:49:43Z","timestamp":1757944183000},"page":"347-356","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The relationship between COVID-19 and opioid-related emergency department visits in Alberta, Canada: an interrupted time series analysis"],"prefix":"10.24095","volume":"45","author":[{"given":"Kelsey A.","family":"Speed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hauwa","family":"Bwala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicole D.","family":"Gehring","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marawan","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Quantitative Solutions, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kathryn","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Parabhdeep","family":"Lail","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shanell","family":"Twan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gillian","family":"Harvey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Art and Design, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patrick","family":"McLane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"},{"name":"Emergency Strategic Clinical Network, Alberta Health Services, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ginetta","family":"Salvalaggio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"T. Cameron","family":"Wild","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Klaudia","family":"Dmitrienko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joshua","family":"Hathaway","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elaine","family":"Hyshka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"10188","container-title":["Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/reports-publications\/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice\/vol-45-no-9-2025\/relationship-covid-19-opioid-emergency-department-visits-alberta-canada-interrupted-time-series-analysis.html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,16]],"date-time":"2025-09-16T11:32:18Z","timestamp":1758022338000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/reports-publications\/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice\/vol-45-no-9-2025\/relationship-covid-19-opioid-emergency-department-visits-alberta-canada-interrupted-time-series-analysis.html"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9"},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.24095\/hpcdp.45.9.01","archive":["Internet Archive"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["2368-738X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2368-738X","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]}}}