Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Public Health

Drug-related overdoses are the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Previous drug overdose research has focused primarily on death-related outcomes and opioid-related overdoses. Currently, little is known about drug-related hospitalizations and non-opioid-related overdoses. A drug overdose occurs when a toxic amount of a drug or drugs overwhelms a person's body, limiting normal body functions. A better understanding of drug-related hospitalizations and ecological associations will aid in interventions and policy creation to lessen the severity of the Florida drug epidemic, and possibly the US drug epidemic. In this research project, I analyzed an extensive database of more than 63 million inpatient hospital billing records from all Florida hospitals collected by the Agency for Health Care Administration in Florida (AHCAF) from 1988 to 2012. The overall objective of this study was to elucidate trends and patterns of hospitalizations for drug-related overdoses during the study period. There were four specific aims of this study: examine epidemiological trends of drug-related overdose hospitalizations in Florida between 1988 and 2012, explore risk factors for predicting an intensive care unit admission during a drug-related overdose hospitalization in Florida from 2010 to 2012, examine the association between county-level demographics and county-level drug-related overdose hospitalization rates in Florida in 2010, and compare comorbid psychiatric condition profiles between Florida residents discharged to home and psychiatric care after a drug-related overdose hospitalization in 2010. Over the 25 years of the study, drug-related overdose hospitalization rates increased significantly for opioids and analgesics (908%), sedatives and hypnotics (38%), psychotropic agents (27%), and central nervous system stimulants (4550%). During the same period, the hospitalization rates due to central nervous system depressants and anesthetics decreased by 41% (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Randall Harris (Advisor); Jared Huling (Committee Member); Kathyrn Lancaster (Committee Member); Tasleem Padamsee (Committee Member) Subjects: Public Health; Public Policy

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2020, Chemistry

Illicitly manufactured fentanyls (IMFs) have become a global and local epidemic and have recently caused an increase in the number of accidental exposures and overdoses in first responders and the community. The aim of the research is to explore a method to discriminate between IMFs and cutting agents in mock street samples using Raman Spectroscopy. Predominant Raman bands corresponding to the structural moieties of each individual illicit, licit drugs, and cutting agents were tracked, then used to discriminate between varying components in a mock street sample. In conclusion, discrimination between the components in the mixture was obtained using Raman Spectroscopy. The inquiry will provide the basis for a viable method in the prevention of accidental exposures and overdoses in first responders and the general public.

Committee: Ioana Pavel Ph.D. (Advisor); David Dolson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Steven Higgins Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Chemistry; Toxicology