About the Study : Are neighborhood environmental interventions associated with reductions in fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses? In this nonrandomized trial including 1667 blocks of a single neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aggregate interventions were associated with a significant reduction in fatal opioid overdose, with no association for nonfatal opioid overdose. Abandoned house remediation was associated with a significant reduction in fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses, community trash pickup was not associated with fatal or nonfatal overdoses, and vacant lot cleanup was not associated with fatal overdoses but was associated with a significant increase in nonfatal overdoses. These findings suggest that abandoned house remediation should be considered a viable community-level intervention for opioid overdose.
Author Information : Corresponding Author Eugenia C. South, MD, MS, of University of Pennsylvania, is unavailable for interviews during the JAMA Network media embargo period. Journalists may contact co-authors Zachary Meisel ( zfm@pennmedicine.upenn.edu ) and Abby Dolan ( abigail.dolan@pennmedicine.upenn.edu ) for interviews.
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26634
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