MOUD use among Hispanic clients increased post-ACA, yet differed by heritage and geographic location.

Background: Overdose death rates for Hispanic people rose 2010-2022. Opioid overdose rates grew faster among Hispanic people than non-Hispanic White people ("White"). Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is an effective but underutilized intervention for decreasing overdose risk.

The COVID-19 experience among international migrant workers in the Republic of Korea: knowledge and awareness of treatment and immigration policies.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed various health risks and inequities experienced by international migrant workers. The number of migrant workers in the Republic of Korea (ROK) is rapidly growing and is expected to continue growing. Health related research on migrant workers in ROK is limited, especially among undocumented migrant workers who were more vulnerable to the pandemic.

Patient experiences in outpatient substance use disorder treatment: A qualitative study exploring both clinical and non-clinical contexts.

Background: Addressing the persistent treatment gap in substance use disorder (SUD) remains a critical challenge, with only 13 % of Americans with SUDs receiving necessary treatment. We explored the complexities of engaging in SUD treatment from patients' perspectives and aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of their treatment experiences.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 34 patients who had been attending outpatient SUD clinics in New York State for 6 or less months.

Urgent need for substance use disorder research among understudied populations: examining the Asian-American experience.

Substance use disorder (SUD) among Asian Americans is understudied. Our review of National Institutes of Health-funded projects reveals a striking underrepresentation of research focused on SUD in this population, possibly perpetuated by the pervasive societal myth that Asian Americans are a healthy community. Moreover, the limited availability and disaggregation of data on SUD among Asian Americans further hinder our understanding of prevalence rates, treatment utilization, and associated disparities-thereby limiting opportunities for prevention and intervention.

Strategies to improve delivery of equitable and evidence-informed care for pregnant and birthing people with a substance use disorder in acute care settings: A scoping review protocol.

This protocol outlines a proposed scoping review to characterize evidence on implementation and quality improvement (QI) strategies that aim to improve equitable, evidence-informed care delivery for pregnant and birthing people with substance use disorder (SUD) in acute care. Untreated SUD during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of overdose and severe maternal morbidity. Acute care settings are one important place to deliver equitable, evidence-informed clinical care.

Substance use and treatment disparities among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: A systematic review.

Background: The increasing relevance of substance use disorder (SUD) within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA&NH/PI) communities, particularly amidst rising anti-Asian hate incidents and the disproportionate health and economic challenges faced by the NH/PI community during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscores the urgency of understanding substance use patterns, treatment disparities, and outcomes.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, 37 out of 231 studies met the search criteria. Study characteristics, study datasets, substance use rates, SUD rates, treatment disparities, treatment quality, completion rates, and analyses disaggregated by the most specific AA&NH/PI ethnic group reported were examined.

A Year After Implementation of the Telehealth Waiver: Being Offered and Utilizing Video-Specific Telehealth Among Dual-Eligible Medicare Recipients During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Telehealth is an essential tool to provide access to care while reducing infection exposure for high-risk populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aims to examine factors associated with telehealth availability and usage among Medicare and dual-eligible recipients 1 year after implementation of the Medicare's temporary telehealth waiver.

Design, Setting, And Participant: A cross-sectional, phone survey with a national representative sample of Medicare recipients.

Medicaid policy data for evaluating eligibility and programmatic changes.

Objectives: Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health insurance coverage to more than 90 million Americans as of early 2023. There is substantial variation in eligibility criteria, application procedures, premiums, and other programmatic characteristics across states and over time. Analyzing changes in Medicaid policies is important for state and federal agencies and other stakeholders, but such analysis requires data on historical programmatic characteristics that are often not available in a form ready for quantitative analysis.

Organizational access points and substance use disorder treatment utilization among Black women: a longitudinal cohort study.

Introduction: Health and social service organizations, including the emergency department (ED) and public assistance programs, constitute a social safety net that may serve as an "access point" for substance use treatment utilization. Racialization of substance use disorder (SUD) and gender disparities in access to treatment contribute to differences in health and social service utilization, including substance use treatment for Black women. We therefore explored the role of various access points in facilitating the use of substance use treatment among Black women with substance use and involvement in the criminal justice system.

In our responses to the overdose epidemic, we cannot forget pregnant and postpartum people.

In 2021, there were over 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States (US). Death rates have increased faster among women than men, particularly among Black and Indigenous people. Although drug overdose is a leading cause of pregnancy-associated deaths, birthing people are rarely emphasized in discussions of overdose and research and services remain limited.

Clinics Optimizing MEthadone Take-homes for opioid use disorder (COMET): Protocol for a stepped-wedge randomized trial to facilitate clinic level changes.

Introduction: Regulatory changes made during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) that relaxed criteria for take-home dosing (THD) of methadone offer an opportunity to improve quality of care with a lifesaving treatment. There is a pressing need for research to study the long-term effects of the new PHE THD rules and to test data-driven interventions to promote more effective adoption by opioid treatment programs (OTPs). We propose a two-phase project to develop and test a multidimensional intervention for OTPs that leverages information from large State administrative data.

Impact of supportive housing health homes program on medicaid utilization for persons diagnosed with HIV (PDWH).

Unstable housing among persons diagnosed with HIV (PDWH) has been consistently linked to poor HIV-related care engagement. We examined the relationship between enrollment in a supportive housing program and health care utilization (use of outpatient services, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations) for a group of unstably housed, Medicaid and Health Homes (HH)-enrolled PDWH in New York State. We analyzed monthly longitudinal data consisting of linked supportive housing data, HH data, and Medicaid claims from New York State (excluding New York City) between 2012 and 2017 using time series models.

Alcohol use during pregnancy: findings from a gender-based violence survey in Mongolia.

This study aimed to explore the risk factors for alcohol use during pregnancy in Mongolia, wherein high-risk alcohol use is prevalent. We analyzed nationwide data from the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Survey of Mongolia conducted in 2017. We conducted an analysis restricted to 2714 women who had given birth within 5 years of the survey and who had responded to questions about their health-related behaviors during pregnancy.

The teamwork structure, process, and context of a paediatric cardiac surgery team in Mongolia: A mixed-methods approach.

Introduction: Effective teamwork in paediatric cardiac surgery is known to improve team performance and surgical outcomes. However, teamwork in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Mongolia, is understudied. We examined multiple dimensions of teamwork to inform a team-based training programme to strengthen paediatric cardiac surgical care in Mongolia.

Effects of a New York Medicaid Care Management Program on Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services and Medicaid Spending: Implications for Defining the Target Population.

Aims: We examined the effects of a statewide New York (NY) care management (CM) program for substance use disorder (SUD), Managed Addiction Treatment Services (MATS), on SUD treatment services' utilization and spending among patients with a recent history of high Medicaid spending and among those for whom a predictive algorithm indicates a higher probability of outlier spending in the following year.

Methods: We applied difference-in-difference analyses with propensity score matching using NY Medicaid claims data and a state registry of SUD-treatment episodes from 2006 to 2009. A total of 1263 CM enrollees with high SUD treatment spending (>$10K) in the prior year and a matched comparison group were included in the analysis.

Estimating the impact on initiating medications for opioid use disorder of state policies expanding Medicaid and prohibiting substance use during pregnancy.

Background: Medicaid expansion increased access to addiction treatment services for pregnant women. However, states' imposition of civil or criminal child abuse sanctions for drug use during pregnancy could inhibit access to treatment. We estimated the effects of Medicaid expansion on pregnant women's medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) use, and its interaction with statutes that prohibit substance use during pregnancy.

Differential Gateways, Facilitators, and Barriers to Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Pregnant Women and Mothers: A Scoping Systematic Review.

Objectives: Access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is complex, and more so for pregnant women and mothers who experience unique barriers. This scoping systematic review aimed to summarize contemporary findings on gateways, facilitators, and barriers to treatment for pregnant women and mothers with SUD.

Methods: We used the scoping review methodology and a systematic search strategy via MEDLINE/PubMed and Google Scholar.

Motherhood, pregnancy and gateways to intervene in substance use disorder.

Motherhood increases women's use of health and social services, presenting opportunities to identify and refer women with substance use disorder (SUD) to treatment. We pooled 4 years (2015-2018) of cross-sectional data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health on women of child-bearing age (18-44) in the United States (n = 64,346). (1) We compared the use of services (health, social and criminal justice involvement) by SUD and 'motherhood' (pregnant or has one or more children under 18).

Predictive validity of the New York State Level of Care for Alcohol and Drug Treatment Referral (LOCADTR) for continuous engagement in treatment among individuals recommended for outpatient care.

Background: The New York State (NYS) Level of Care for Alcohol and Drug Treatment Referral (LOCADTR) was launched in 2015 to determine the most appropriate level of care for individuals seeking addiction treatment. However, research has not studied its predictive validity. We examined the predictive validity of the LOCADTR recommendation for outpatient treatment by determining whether those who entered a level of care (LOC) concordant with the LOCADTR recommendation differed in continuous engagement in treatment compared to those who entered a discordant LOC.

Black clients in expansion states who used opioids were more likely to access medication for opioid use disorder after ACA implementation.

Introduction: Black people in the United States who use opioids receive less treatment and die from overdoses at higher rates than White people. Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) decreases overdose risk. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the United States was associated with an increase in MOUD.