Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder and Retention in Care in Medicaid-Enrolled Youth, 2014-2019.

Purpose: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a pediatric-onset condition needing timely, effective treatment. Medications for AUD are part of nationally recommended treatments for youth. This study measured receipt of medications and behavioral health services for AUD and subsequent retention in care.

Training in Adolescent Substance and Opioid Misuse in Pediatric Residency Programs.

This study describes pediatric residency program training in adolescent substance use and opioid misuse, correlates training to local overdose rates, and identifies gaps in training.

High levels of used syringe use and unsafe sex among people who inject drugs in Kumasi, Ghana: an urgent call for a comprehensive harm reduction approach.

Background: Drug use is a growing concern in Ghana. People who inject drugs (PWID) are highly vulnerable to HIV and other infectious diseases. Ghana's National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS 2016-2020 identifies PWID as a key population, but efforts to address the needs of PWID have lagged behind those targeting sex workers and men who have sex with men.

Opioid use disorder and overdose among youth following an initial opioid prescription.

Background And Aims: Some adolescents and young adults (termed "youth") prescribed an opioid will develop opioid use disorder or experience overdose. This study aimed to identify patient and prescription characteristics associated with subsequent risk of opioid use disorder or overdose during the year after an opioid is first dispensed.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Incidence and Characteristics of Nonfatal Opioid Overdose Among Youths Aged 11 to 24 Years by Sex.

Importance: Opioid-related overdose has substantially increased among adolescents and young adults in recent years. How overdose differs by age and sex among youths and the factors associated with overdose by sex remain poorly described.

Objective: To compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of female and male youths who have experienced a nonfatal opioid overdose (NFOD) and compare the incidence of NFOD by sex.

High Prevalence of Indications for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among People Who Inject Drugs in Boston, Massachusetts.

Introduction: In Massachusetts, recent outbreaks of HIV have been fueled by injection and sexual exposures among people who inject drugs. Understanding pre-exposure prophylaxis need, knowledge, and use among people who inject drugs will help inform and evaluate interventions.

Methods: In 2019, investigators analyzed 2018 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance data from people who inject drugs in Boston, MA, who met eligibility criteria.

Polysubstance Involvement in Opioid Overdose Deaths in Adolescents and Young Adults, 1999-2018.

This cross-sectional study examines US trends in polysubstance-involved opioid overdose deaths among adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 25 years.

State-level prescription drug monitoring program mandates and adolescent injection drug use in the United States, 1995-2017: A difference-in-differences analysis.

Background: Prescription opioid misuse is an ongoing crisis and a risk factor for injection drug use (IDU). Few studies have evaluated strategies for preventing opioid or IDU initiation among adolescents. We evaluated changes in the proportion of adolescents reporting IDU before and after prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) mandates were implemented in 18 states compared to 29 states without such mandates.

"Health Is on the Back Burner:" Multilevel Barriers and Facilitators to Primary Care Among People Who Inject Drugs.

Background: The estimated 2.2 million people who inject drugs (PWID) in the USA experience significant gaps in preventive healthcare and a high burden of infectious, psychiatric, and other chronic diseases. Many PWID rely on emergency medical services, which are costly and not designed to deliver preventive services, manage chronic conditions, or address social needs.

Patterns, contexts, and motivations for polysubstance use among people who inject drugs in non-urban settings in the U.S. Northeast.

Background: Polysubstance use (i.e., using ≥2 psychoactive substances concomitantly) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and complicates drug treatment needs among people who inject drugs (PWID).

Ecological momentary assessment of daily drug use and harm reduction service utilization among people who inject drugs in non-urban areas: A concurrent mixed-method feasibility study.

Background: Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) can improve data accuracy and be useful for understanding the real-time co-occurrence of drug use and harm reduction service utilization among people who inject drugs (PWID); however, feasibility and acceptability of EMA in this population is unknown.

Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews (n = 45) and EMA surveys (n = 38) with PWID in cities and towns outside of Massachusetts' and Rhode Island's capital cities to 1) assess EMA feasibility and acceptability and 2) examine day-level correlations between drug use and harm reduction service utilization.

Results: Qualitative and quantitative data demonstrated that a 14-day EMA study was both feasible and acceptable.

Analysis of Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing of Stimulants, 2014 Through 2018.

This study examines the number and dollar amount of payments to physicians from companies marketing prescription stimulant medications.

Treatment for Nicotine Use Disorder Among Medicaid-Enrolled Adolescents and Young Adults.

This study assesses use of nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, and sustained-release bupropion for adolescents and young adults with nicotine use disorder who are enrolled in Medicaid.