Spatial Science and Urban Systems, UC Irvine Spatial Science and Urban Systems, UC Irvine

Opioid Overdose Disparities in Inland Southern California: Ethnography Meets Advanced Spatial Analytics

2021–2025 · NIH / NIDA, award R21DA054611 · Co-PI (PI: Jennifer Syvertsen)

Map of Riverside County showing age-adjusted opioid overdose death rates by area in 2020, from the project dashboard.
Age-adjusted opioid overdose death rates, Riverside County, 2020, from the project dashboard.

Drawing on spatial data science, anthropology, and public health, the project studies the spatial contexts of opioid overdoses in Riverside County, California, in partnership with local public health agencies and emergency services. It pairs ethnographic fieldwork with spatial analysis of fatal overdoses.

Publications: Exploring Space-Time Interactions in Fatal Opioid Overdoses (Geographical Analysis, 2025); The emergence of fentanyl in a stimulant landscape (International Journal of Drug Policy, 2025).

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