NAS from 2009 to 2015 by county in eight states: Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.">
Cover: Simulation of County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Rates Tool

Simulation of County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Rates Tool

by Elizabeth McNeer, Stephen W. Patrick, Laura J. Faherty, Andrew W. Dick, Theresa A. Scott, Judith Dudley, Bradley D. Stein

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Rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which occurs in newborns who were exposed to opioids in the womb, have increased dramatically over the past decade. This web-based tool displays the rates of NAS per 1,000 hospital births from 2009 to 2015 by county in eight states: Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.

The data can be customized by such county characteristics as percentage unemployment, number of obstetricians, and percentage of manufacturing jobs. Characteristics also include whether the county is a Primary Care Shortage Area or a Mental Health Shortage Area. Viewers can see the baseline predicted NAS and actual NAS rates alongside the customizable predicted NAS rate based on the chosen characteristics.

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This tool was prepared for the National Institute on Drug Abuse by RAND Health Care.

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