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The quantity of Michigan children whose parents passed away from overdose, suicide, homicide, or other substance-related reasons has surged since 2000, comprising 2 out of 5 parental fatalities, a recent University of Michigan investigation discovered.

Michigan’s parental mortality rates exceed the national average, stated Sean Esteban McCabe, an educator at the U-M School of Nursing and the primary author of the study published in JAMA Network Open.

McCabe and his team sought to gain a deeper insight into the state scenario related to stigmatized fatalities. Their aim was to offer bereavement support to the children who remain in the areas most impacted.

“Parental deaths resulting from overdoses, homicides, suicides, and other substance-related reasons lead to more harmful health outcomes and increased rates of premature mortality in their children. Therefore, this area requires greater focus, as no child should endure grief alone,” remarked McCabe, also the head of U-M’s Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health.

McCabe and his associates established a partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, and HopeHQ, a research organization centered on children mourning parental overdose deaths.

To comprehend the trends of parental deaths at the state and county levels, researchers connected death certificates of individuals who passed away between 2000 and 2023 with birth certificates from 1989 to 2023, forming a cohort of biological children aged 17 or younger who had undergone a parental death.

Other significant discoveries include:

• From 2000 to 2023, 115,558 children in Michigan faced a parental death for various reasons.
• During the same period, 38,429 children suffered a parental death due to suicide, homicide, overdose, or other substance-related causes.
• In 2008, stigmatized deaths represented 1,372 fatalities, accounting for 28%.
• By 2023, stigmatized deaths represented 2,222 mortality incidents, or 42%.
• At the county level, the proportion of children who experienced stigmatized parental deaths in relation to all other causes varied from 21% to 47%.

“Despite some recent decreases in fatal drug overdoses, the number of children who have experienced a parental death due to a drug overdose continues to rise both in Michigan and nationwide, attributed to the significant increase in fatal drug overdoses over the past decade,” noted McCabe.

One significant observation, he mentioned, is that counties facing elevated levels of parental deaths due to drug overdose, homicide, suicide, and other substance-related factors are dispersed across the state instead of being localized in one area. Some counties that ranked highest include: Marquette, Luce, Alger, Dickinson, Baraga, Menominee, Charlevoix, Manistee, St. Clair, Monroe, Calhoun, and Crawford.

“Collectively, these findings provide critical metrics to ensure that sufficient bereavement services are available to meet the rising needs at both county and state levels,” asserted McCabe. “We are fortunate to reside in a state that prioritizes public health and is committed to making data-informed decisions to ensure no child or family mourns alone.”

Since the research concentrated on biological parents and excluded stepparents or other caregivers, it likely underrepresents the genuine impact of bereaved children in Michigan, he explained.

“This is a commendable initial effort, although further work is evidently necessary,” McCabe stated.

Co-authors include Luisa Kcomt, Wayne State University, Rebecca Evans-Polce, U-M School of Nursing; Samuel Tennant, U-M School of Public Health; Eric Hulsey, Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions; and Vita McCabe, Michigan Medicine.

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