The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment
Abstract Background US chiefs of police hold significant influence over the perceived acceptability and appropriateness of interventions for opioid use disorder (OUD) among the public, elected officials, and subordinate officers. This study assessed whether police chiefs’ support for such interventi...
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BMC
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Health & Justice |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00306-4 |
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| author | Brandon del Pozo Saba Rouhani Amelia Bailey M. H. Clark Kaitlin F. Martins Fatema Z. Ahmed Danielle Atkins Barbara Andraka-Christou |
| author_facet | Brandon del Pozo Saba Rouhani Amelia Bailey M. H. Clark Kaitlin F. Martins Fatema Z. Ahmed Danielle Atkins Barbara Andraka-Christou |
| author_sort | Brandon del Pozo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background US chiefs of police hold significant influence over the perceived acceptability and appropriateness of interventions for opioid use disorder (OUD) among the public, elected officials, and subordinate officers. This study assessed whether police chiefs’ support for such interventions was sensitive to framing an intervention’s benefits in terms that emphasize public health and harm reduction outcomes, versus terms typically indicative of public safety outcomes. Methods A two-armed survey utilizing a randomized, between-subjects design tested framing-based variance in support among US chiefs of police for overdose prevention centers, syringe service programs (SSPs), Good Samaritan laws, police naloxone distribution, trustworthiness of officers in recovery from OUD, and related propositions. Of 1,200 invitations, 276 chiefs participated (23%). The two experimental arms (n = 133, n = 143) were demographically balanced between both each other and non-respondents. Results Chiefs were more likely to agree that their mission was protecting public safety than protecting public health, even when both were defined using public health outcomes. Chiefs expressed significantly greater support for “overdose prevention sites” than “safe injection sites” (p = .018), low levels of support for SSPs regardless of framing (18% safety; 19% health), and comparably more support for Good Samaritan laws based on framing (62% safety vs. 54% health). Respondents voiced low levels of trust in officers recovering from OUD generally (31%), and significantly lower levels of trust when recovery involved the medication buprenorphine (10%; p < .001). Senior chiefs were significantly more likely to support SSPs (aOR 1.05; CI 1.01, 1.09) and overdose prevention sites (aOR 2.45; CI 1.13, 5.28) than less senior chiefs. Conclusions In this cross-sectional survey experiment, support for some interventions for OUD was greater among US chiefs of police when framed to emphasize positive public safety outcomes. Research is required to better understand low support for SSPs, mistrust of officers in recovery for OUD, and greater support for OUD interventions among senior chiefs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cd73407c099241dfb4fd5c8f989a9c97 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2194-7899 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health & Justice |
| spelling | doaj-art-cd73407c099241dfb4fd5c8f989a9c972025-08-20T02:39:39ZengBMCHealth & Justice2194-78992024-12-0112111310.1186/s40352-024-00306-4The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experimentBrandon del Pozo0Saba Rouhani1Amelia Bailey2M. H. Clark3Kaitlin F. Martins4Fatema Z. Ahmed5Danielle Atkins6Barbara Andraka-Christou7The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown UniversityNew York University School of Global Public HealthBrown University School of Public HealthUniversity of Central Florida College of Community Education and InnovationRhode Island Hospital, Brown University HealthUniversity of Central Florida College of Community Education and InnovationFlorida State University Askew School of Public Administration and PolicyUniversity of Central Florida College of Community Education and InnovationAbstract Background US chiefs of police hold significant influence over the perceived acceptability and appropriateness of interventions for opioid use disorder (OUD) among the public, elected officials, and subordinate officers. This study assessed whether police chiefs’ support for such interventions was sensitive to framing an intervention’s benefits in terms that emphasize public health and harm reduction outcomes, versus terms typically indicative of public safety outcomes. Methods A two-armed survey utilizing a randomized, between-subjects design tested framing-based variance in support among US chiefs of police for overdose prevention centers, syringe service programs (SSPs), Good Samaritan laws, police naloxone distribution, trustworthiness of officers in recovery from OUD, and related propositions. Of 1,200 invitations, 276 chiefs participated (23%). The two experimental arms (n = 133, n = 143) were demographically balanced between both each other and non-respondents. Results Chiefs were more likely to agree that their mission was protecting public safety than protecting public health, even when both were defined using public health outcomes. Chiefs expressed significantly greater support for “overdose prevention sites” than “safe injection sites” (p = .018), low levels of support for SSPs regardless of framing (18% safety; 19% health), and comparably more support for Good Samaritan laws based on framing (62% safety vs. 54% health). Respondents voiced low levels of trust in officers recovering from OUD generally (31%), and significantly lower levels of trust when recovery involved the medication buprenorphine (10%; p < .001). Senior chiefs were significantly more likely to support SSPs (aOR 1.05; CI 1.01, 1.09) and overdose prevention sites (aOR 2.45; CI 1.13, 5.28) than less senior chiefs. Conclusions In this cross-sectional survey experiment, support for some interventions for OUD was greater among US chiefs of police when framed to emphasize positive public safety outcomes. Research is required to better understand low support for SSPs, mistrust of officers in recovery for OUD, and greater support for OUD interventions among senior chiefs.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00306-4Harm reductionPublic healthPolicingPoliceLaw enforcementCommunication |
| spellingShingle | Brandon del Pozo Saba Rouhani Amelia Bailey M. H. Clark Kaitlin F. Martins Fatema Z. Ahmed Danielle Atkins Barbara Andraka-Christou The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment Health & Justice Harm reduction Public health Policing Police Law enforcement Communication |
| title | The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment |
| title_full | The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment |
| title_fullStr | The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment |
| title_short | The effects of message framing on US police chiefs’ support for interventions for opioid use disorder: a randomized survey experiment |
| title_sort | effects of message framing on us police chiefs support for interventions for opioid use disorder a randomized survey experiment |
| topic | Harm reduction Public health Policing Police Law enforcement Communication |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00306-4 |
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