Talk Title: TBD

Dr. Hawre Jalal is the Director of the DASH Lab. He joined the School of Epidemiology and Public Health in January 2022. He is a physician (2003) by practice and holds a Masters (2008) and a PhD (2013) in health economic evaluations and decision sciences from the University of Minnesota.  After his PhD, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at VA Palo Alto and and Stanford University in 2015. He has been a faculty at University of Pittsburgh since 2015 prior to joining the University of Ottawa. His research uses quantitative methods to inform decision making under uncertainty, including health economic evaluations of medical treatments and public health policies and interventions.

Abstract:

This presentation explores the exponential rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States, offering insights from over four decades of data. By analyzing more than 1,000,000 overdose deaths since 1959, the research uncovers a persistent growth pattern shaped by shifting drug classes, demographic trends, and socio-environmental factors. The discussion will highlight innovative visualization techniques, such as hexamaps, that elucidate age, period, and cohort-specific patterns. Special attention will be given to the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly accelerated overdose deaths due to factors such as social isolation, economic stress, and disruptions to healthcare and harm reduction services. This talk aims to provide insights into the structural drivers of the epidemic and the multi-faceted interventions required to address it.