Comparative Effectiveness of Buprenorphine Adherence with Telemedicine versus In-person for Rural and Urban Patients.

Background: Policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed buprenorphine to be prescribed for opioid use disorder (OUD) via telemedicine without an in-person visit. A recently proposed change will limit buprenorphine access to 30 days without an in-person visit. Given that people living in rural areas may be disproportionally impacted by this change, we sought to better understand how buprenorphine adherence may be impacted by requiring in-person visits.

Psychometric Properties of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-II Self-Report.

The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is one of the most commonly used instruments for assessing and quantifying the presence and severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. Both the interview and self-report (SR) versions of the original Y-BOCS have demonstrated good psychometrics. However, areas for revision were noted regarding the measure's severity ceiling and a "resistance to obsessions" item that did not perform adequately in psychometric testing and was not consistent with theoretical models of OCD.

Policy Changes to Improve Service Access: Best Practices for Researchers Engaging With Criminal Justice Partners.

The Texas Christian University Hub of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network Project includes a partnership with state criminal justice (CJ) agencies with the goal of impacting state- and local-level policies and practices that will lead to increased access to and retention in community-based substance use treatment services among parole clients. This article outlines how we successfully fostered policy changes and includes a five-step process for how researchers can bridge the gap between research and CJ agencies to implement similar changes. This process included the use of various strategies to support the justice partners in their efforts to implement changes within their organization.

Opioid analgesic and antidepressant use during pregnancy and the risk of spontaneous preterm birth: A nested case-control study.

Background: Given the high prevalence of both mental health and acute pain conditions during pregnancy, use of antidepressants and analgesic opioids in this period is widespread. Whether single and combined use of these medications is associated with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) remains unclear.

Objectives: To investigate the association between maternal prescription opioid and antidepressant medication exposures for co-occurring mental health and acute pain management, either alone or in combination, and sPTB.

International medical graduates' experiences of clinical competency assessment in postgraduate and licensing examinations: A scoping review protocol.

An international medical graduate (IMG) is a doctor who has received their basic medical qualification from a medical school located in a different country from that in which they practice or intend to practice. IMGs are known to face difficulties in their working lives, including differential attainment in assessment. The objective of this review is to map key concepts and types of evidence in academic and gray literature relating to international medical graduates' experiences of clinical competency assessment and to identify knowledge gaps on this topic by systematically searching, selecting, and synthesizing existing knowledge.