Island Health Performance Measures

Rate of Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths Performance Year to Date Header (editable in 29.4header/footer) Assessment Performance Island Health Target

Less than or equal to

5.0

What do we measure and why? This indicator reports the number of deaths classified by the Coroner's Office as accidental or undetermined deaths (confirmed and under investigation) where cause of death indicates apparent illicit drug overdose, as a rate per 100,000 population. "Illicit drugs" include street drugs, medications NOT prescribed to the deceased, combinations of the two, and/or cases where the origin of drug is not known. On April 14, 2016, the Public Health Officer of BC declared an emergency due to the sustained increase in overdose deaths. What is the target? For 2017/18, the target is set at a rate of 5.0 deaths or fewer per 100,000 population, which was the average annual rate between 2007 and 2011. The rate of illicit drug overdose deaths began to increase from 2011 due to the increased presence of fentanyl in illicit drugs.

Published: April 2018 http://www.viha.ca/about_viha/accountability

Red

Performance is significantly outside acceptable range; take action and monitor progress.

How are we doing? In 2017, Island Health's annual rate of illicit drug overdose deaths was 29.4 per 100,000 people. This rate is a 43% increase compared to 2016, and a 240% increase compared to 2015. In 2017, the number of deaths by month varied, but was above the 2016 monthly average in all but one month. While the increase in deaths in 2016 was dramatic and prompted the declaration of a public health emergency for the province, there had been an overall increasing trend in illicit drug overdose death rates since 2011. What actions are we taking? While the rate of overdose deaths remains high, it would likely be much higher without the significant response efforts aimed at reducing the number of preventable deaths. This includes widespread distribution of naloxone, increased outreach, the opening of nine Overdose Prevention Sites in communities across the region, and other harm reduction efforts. The response to this emergency situation and the reduction of preventable deaths remains a high priority across Island Health and British Columbia.