Dr. Parvati Singh, The Ohio State University, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
"Short-term impact of casino-based cash transfers on deaths of despair among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina"
Despite a stark rise in deaths of despair (suicides, drug overdose and alcohol-related mortality) among American India/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations, scant research focuses on mortality from despair-related causes in this population. Provision of supplementary income through cash transfers may improve mental health outcomes among AI/AN groups that, in turn, may also reduce deaths of despair. Conversely, income from cash/benefits transfers may correspond with increased mortality from harmful consumption in the short-term: a phenomenon referred to as the “check effect.” We used a casino-based cash transfer among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in western North Carolina to examine changes in quarterly deaths of despair following cash receipt in this population, from 1980 to 2019. Fixed effects regression analyses indicated a rise in mortality from drug overdose in the quarter of cash transfer receipt (IRR = 1.12, p < 0.05); we detected no statistical association between cash transfers and suicides, alcohol-related deaths.
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