A theoretical explanation of naloxone provision among primary care physicians and community pharmacists in Tennessee.

Background: Increasing access to naloxone reduces opioid-related morbidity and mortality. Primary care and community pharmacy settings are critical access points, yet limited theoretical research has examined naloxone prescribing and dispensing behaviors.

Objectives: To determine if the theory of planned behavior (TPB) combined with theoretical constructs from communication science explains intentions to co-prescribe and discuss co-dispensing naloxone among primary care physicians and community pharmacists, respectively.

Is peer support a tipping point for the opioid use disorder crisis in Appalachia? Research holds the answer.

Background: The present commentary highlights the pressing need for systematic research to assess the implementation and effectiveness of medications for opioid use disorder, used in conjunction with peer recovery support services, to improve treatment outcomes for individuals with opioid use disorder in Central Appalachia. This region, encompassing West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Western North Carolina, has long grappled with a disproportionate burden of the opioid crisis. Due to a complex interplay of cultural, socioeconomic, medical, and geographic factors, individuals in Central Appalachia face challenges in maintaining treatment and recovery efforts, leading to lower success rates.

A multi-level intervention to reduce the stigma of substance use and criminal involvement: a pilot feasibility trial protocol.

Background: Stigma associated with substance use and criminal involvement is pervasive and creates a barrier to evidence-based addiction care within the criminal legal system. Research has yet to examine a multi-level stigma intervention which targets the intersection of these stigmas among both criminal legal staff and legally-involved clients.

Methods: This paper presents the protocol for a non-randomized trial of a multi-level stigma intervention called Combatting Stigma to Aid Reentry and Recovery (CSTARR) that involves two interventions: (1) training for criminal legal staff to address public stigma and (2) group-based acceptance and commitment therapy to address self-stigma among legally-involved adults enrolled in substance use treatment.

A scoping review of barriers and facilitators to the integration of substance use treatment services into US mainstream health care.

Background: Following the national implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, barriers still exist that limit the adoption of substance use treatment (SUT) services in mainstream health care (MHC) settings in the United States. This study provides an overview of current evidence on barriers and facilitators to integrating various SUT services into MHC.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted with the following databases: "PubMed including MEDLINE", "CINAHL", "Web of Science", "ABI/Inform", and "PsycINFO.

Primary care physicians' opioid-related prevention behaviors and intentions: A descriptive analysis.

Objective: Primary care physicians (PCPs) are positioned to mitigate opioid morbidity and mortality, but their engagement in primary, secondary, and tertiary opioid-related prevention behaviors is unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate Tennessee PCPs' engagement in and intention to engage in multiple opioid-related prevention behaviors.

Methods: A survey instrument was developed, pretested, and pilot tested with practicing PCPs.

Health workers' perceptions on where and how to integrate tobacco use cessation services into tuberculosis treatment; a qualitative exploratory study in Uganda.

Background: Tobacco use is associated with exacerbation of tuberculosis (TB) and poor TB treatment outcomes. Integrating tobacco use cessation within TB treatment could improve healing among TB patients. The aim was to explore perceptions of health workers on where and how to integrate tobacco use cessation services into TB treatment programs in Uganda.

The next wave? Mental health comorbidities and patients with substance use disorders in under-resourced and rural areas.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted the lives of millions around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused increasing concern among treatment professionals about mental health and risky substance use, especially among those who are struggling with a substance use disorder (SUD). The pandemic's impact on those with an SUD may be heightened in vulnerable communities, such as those living in under-resourced and rural areas.

Association between per and polyfluoroalkyl substances and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and markers of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Methods: Using data (n = 6652) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2012, generalized linear models were used to examine the association between PFAS and inflammatory (ferritin, alkaline phosphatase, C-reactive protein, absolute neutrophil count and lymphocyte count) and oxidative stress (serum bilirubin, albumin and iron) per unit exposure to PFAS while adjusting for covariates. Study participants were those ≥20 years of age.

A cross-sectional study of the association between perfluorinated chemical exposure and cancers related to deregulation of estrogen receptors.

Background: Environmental exposures acting through different mechanisms have been linked with a number of cancers. Perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) are endocrine disrupting chemicals affecting estrogen homeostasis.

Objectives: We examined the association between PFCs and a group of estrogen related cancers and explored if increased non-occupational exposure was associated with increased odds of developing these cancers.

Community pharmacist engagement in opioid use disorder prevention and treatment behaviors: A descriptive analysis.

Objectives: This study describes community pharmacists' opioid analgesic and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) practice behaviors and behavioral intentions in the context of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of opioid use disorder (OUD).

Methods: The study sampling frame consisted of 2302 Tennessee community-practice pharmacists who were asked to complete a mailed, paper questionnaire. Behavioral intentions were elicited by asking pharmacists to indicate the number of times (0 to 10) they engage in a behavior, given 10 patients in 3 distinct vignettes.

Real-world non-interventional long-term post-authorisation safety study of ruxolitinib in myelofibrosis.

Primary objective of this non-interventional, post-authorisation safety study was to provide real-world safety data [incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs)/serious adverse events (SAEs)] on adult patients with myelofibrosis exposed/or not exposed to ruxolitinib. Key secondary objectives included the incidence/outcome of events of special interest (bleeding events, serious/opportunistic infections, second primary malignancies, and deaths). Overall, 462 patients were included [prevalent users = 260, new users = 32, non-exposed = 170 (inclusive of ruxolitinib-switch, n = 57)].

Communication Experiences of DATA-Waivered Physicians with Community Pharmacists: A Qualitative Study.

Patients engaged in evidence-based opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment can obtain prescriptions for buprenorphine containing products from specially trained physicians that are subsequently dispensed by community pharmacists. Despite the involvement of physicians and community pharmacists in buprenorphine prescribing and dispensing, respectively, our understanding of their interactions in this context is limited. To qualitatively describe the communication and collaborative experiences between Drug Addiction Treatment Act 2000 (DATA)-waivered physicians and community pharmacists from the perspective of the physician.

"It's Took Over This Region": Patient Perspectives of Prescription Drug Abuse in Appalachia.

Prescription drug abuse is a public health problem in the United States and the region of Appalachia, specifically. Primary care and addiction medicine-as possible points of access for prescription drugs with abuse potential and points of intervention for prescription drug abuse-are among the medical fields at its forefront. Little is known, however, about perceptions of prescription drug abuse across the two patient populations.

Provider-patient communication about prescription drug abuse: A qualitative analysis of the perspective of prescribers.

Provider-patient communication underpins many initiatives aimed at reducing the public health burden associated with prescription drug abuse in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative analysis was to examine the characteristics of provider-patient communication about prescription drug abuse from the perspective of prescribers. From 2014 to 2015, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of prescribers from multiple professions and medical fields in Central and South Central Appalachia.

Almost Everything We Need to Better Serve Children of the Opioid Crisis We Learned in the 80s and 90s.

Opioid use disorder impedes dependent parents' abilities to care for their children. In turn, children may languish in unpredictability and persistent chaos. Societal responses to these children are often guided by a belief that unless the drug dependent parent receives treatment, there is little help for the child.

A Dissemination and Implementation Science Approach to the Epidemic of Opioid Use Disorder in the United States.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to (1) conceptualize the complexity of the opioid use disorder epidemic using a conceptual model grounded in the disease continuum and corresponding levels of prevention and (2) summarize a select set of interventions for the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder.

Recent Findings: Epidemiologic data indicate non-medical prescription and illicit opioid use have reached unprecedented levels, fueling an opioid use disorder epidemic in the USA. A problem of this magnitude is rooted in multiple supply- and demand-side drivers, the combined effect of which outweighs current prevention and treatment efforts.

HIV/HCV Co-infection: Burden of Disease and Care Strategies in Appalachia.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to address infection with HIV and hepatitis C in the Appalachian region of the USA and the driving forces underlying this epidemic. We seek to discuss epidemiology of disease and the possible interventions to reduce incidence and burden of disease in this resource-limited area.

Recent Findings: The rise of the opioid crisis has fueled a rise in new hepatitis C infection, and a rise in new HIV infection is expected to follow.

Interprofessional prescription opioid abuse communication among prescribers and pharmacists: A qualitative analysis.

Background: Prescribers and community pharmacists commonly perceive prescription opioid abuse to be a problem in their practice settings and communities. Both cohorts have expressed support for interventions that improve interprofessional communication and reduce prescription opioid abuse. The objective of this study was to describe prescription opioid abuse-related communication among and between prescribers and community pharmacists in South Central Appalachia.

The effects of rurality on substance use disorder diagnosis: A multiple-groups latent class analysis.

Background: Rates of accidental overdose mortality from substance use disorder (SUD) have risen dramatically in the United States since 1990. Between 1999 and 2004 alone rates increased 62% nationwide, with rural overdose mortality increasing at a rate 3 times that seen in urban populations. Cultural differences between rural and urban populations (e.

Prescription drug abuse communication: A qualitative analysis of prescriber and pharmacist perceptions and behaviors.

Background: Interpersonal communication is inherent in a majority of strategies seeking to engage prescriber and pharmacist health care professionals (HCPs) in the reduction and prevention of prescription drug abuse (PDA). However, research on HCP PDA communication behavioral engagement and factors that influence it is limited.

Objectives: This study quantitatively examined communication behaviors and trait-level communication metrics, and qualitatively described prescription drug abuse-related communication perceptions and behaviors among primary care prescribers and community pharmacists.

Trait Hope and Preparation for Future Care Needs among Older Adult Primary Care Patients.

We examined associations between trait hope and preparation for future care needs (PFCN) among 66 older adult primary care patients in western New York. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing PFCN (awareness, information gathering, decision-making, concrete planning, and avoidance), and the Adult Trait Hope Scale. In multivariate regressions, lower hope, particularly less agency, was associated with more awareness of needing care, whereas higher hopefulness, particularly pathways thinking, was associated with increased decision-making and concrete planning.

Correlates of Prescription Opioid Legitimacy Judgments Among Community Pharmacists.

Background: Community pharmacists are legally required to evaluate and confirm the legitimacy of prescription opioids (POs) prior to dispensing. Yet, previous research has indicated community pharmacists perceive nearly 50% of dispensed POs to be issued lacking a legitimate medical purpose.

Objective: To analyze correlates of PO legitimacy judgments across pharmacist and pharmacy setting characteristics.