CPWR Tools for Responding to Opioid Impact on Construction Workers

Three new opportunities to learn about preventing opioid abuse in the industry where construction workers are seven times more likely to die of an overdose than in other professions

Unintentional overdose fatalities in the construction industry jumped from 7 deaths in 2011 to 65 deaths in 2018, a nine-fold increase in eight years.
Unintentional overdose fatalities in the construction industry jumped from 7 deaths in 2011 to 65 deaths in 2018, a nine-fold increase in eight years.
CPWR

The construction industry has been hit particularly hard by opioids, with state-level studies finding that construction workers are six to seven times more likely to die of an opioid overdose than workers in other professions.

The Center for Construction Research and Training, CPWR, is playing a leading role in helping our industry respond to this danger, including two new resources:

  • A training program, intended to be used by experienced North America’s Building Trades Unions instructors, that is designed to increase awareness of opioids and decrease stigma associated with opioid use. The training program is available now, launched in a beta version that is under evaluation. CPWR anticipates this program will be refined in the coming months, so if you download it, please check back for improved versions.
  • The latest CPWR Quarterly Data Report, which looks at overdoses on job sites, the prevalence of prescribed opioid use and drug abuse, and the association of work-related injuries with prescription opioid use. Among the findings: between 2011 and 2017, one in four construction workers with work-related injuries used prescribed opioid pain relievers.
  • Also, the CPWR website offers resources with information about preventing opioid use. Their webinar this month focuses on this crucial topic as well.
Latest