Silver Spring, MD — A recent analysis from CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training shows that industry deaths tied to opioid overdoses and suicides have declined, indicating that “prevention efforts make a difference.”
CPWR Data Center researchers examined information from the National Center for Health Statistics Mortality Cause File. Among construction workers ages 16-64, they found that drug-related overdose deaths fell 28.8% from 2023 to 2024, while suicides went down 1.7%.
Additionally, the overdose death rate decreased to 94.8 per 100,000 workers in 2024 from 135 the previous year. The suicide rate dropped to 41.9 from 43.2.
CPWR and North America’s Building Trades Unions cite multiple actions and initiatives within construction and general industry as possible contributing factors for the decreases:
- Education on risks of prescribed opioids and opioids in general
- Fewer opioid prescriptions between 2019 and 2023, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Widespread availability of naloxone (an opioid overdose reversal medication) on jobsites and in public settings
- Decreased stigma around substance misuse and mental health disorders
- Improved treatment and recovery support in the construction industry
“We are committed to continuing these efforts, as well as further improving peer support for construction workers, mental health and substance use treatment access, and awareness training,” CPWR and NABTU state.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication