Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' psychological distress, well-being, and utilization of mental health services in the United States: populations at greatest risk.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to major disruptions in the lives of university students, which is a population that is already at a greater risk of mental health concerns. Little is known about how the pandemic impacted distress and mental health services utilization among university students across the United States.

Methods: Using survey data from the National College Health Assessment, both before the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-March 2020,  = 88,986) and during the pandemic (Spring 2021,  = 96,489), the present study examined mental health symptoms and utilization of mental health services among undergraduate students attending four-year universities in the United States.

Alcohol misuse among university students before and during COVID-19: The role of mental health.

: Examine predictors of alcohol misuse among university students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. : University students who completed the National College Health Assessment III before, during, and after the pandemic lockdown. : Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined associations between psychological functioning, time spent with family and friends, and problematic alcohol use.

Adapting a Behavioral Activation Intervention for Opioid Use Disorder and Methadone Treatment Retention for Peer Delivery in a Low-Resource Setting: A Case Series.

While methadone treatment (MT) is effective in treating opioid use disorder (OUD), retention remains an issue nationwide, especially among low-income, minoritized populations. Peer recovery specialists (PRSs), individuals with lived substance use experience, are particularly well suited to support vulnerable populations, though often are not trained in delivering evidence-based interventions. Thus, our team developed a Type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation open-label pilot trial to evaluate the effectiveness of PRS-delivered BA (Peer Activate) in improving MT retention and establish feasibility, acceptability and PRS fidelity of the intervention.

Reduction in substance use stigma following a peer-recovery specialist behavioral activation intervention.

Background: Patients' perceptions and experiences of stigma related to substance use and methadone treatment are barriers to successful treatment of opioid use disorder, particularly among low-income and medically underserved populations. Interventions led by peer recovery specialists (PRSs) may shift stigma-related barriers. This study sought to evaluate shifts in substance use and methadone treatment stigma in the context of an evidence-based behavioral intervention adapted for PRS delivery to support methadone treatment outcomes.

"You rise up and then you start pulling people up with you": Patient experiences with a peer-delivered behavioral activation intervention to support methadone treatment.

Background: Although medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are efficacious treatments for opioid use disorder, retention remains low. Peer recovery specialists (PRSs), individuals with lived substance use and recovery experience, may be particularly well-suited to support patients receiving MOUD. While PRSs are rarely trained in evidence-based behavioral interventions other than motivational interviewing, preliminary evidence suggests that peers can deliver brief behavioral interventions, such as behavioral activation, with efficacy and fidelity.

Applying a mutual capacity building model to inform peer provider programs in South Africa and the United States: A combined qualitative analysis.

Background: Globally, there is a treatment gap for substance use treatment and harm reduction services. As peer-delivered interventions expand to address this gap in both high-income countries (HICs) and low and middle-income countries (LMICs), they provide an opportunity to examine mutual capacity building, the bidirectional exchange of ideas between distinct settings to address common challenges.

Methods: The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of patients in Cape Town and Baltimore about the acceptability and feasibility of a peer-delivered intervention using a combined qualitative analysis across a HIC and LMIC.

A Pilot Study of Training Peer Recovery Specialists in Behavioral Activation in the United States: Preliminary Outcomes and Predictors of Competence.

Background: The peer recovery specialist (PRS) workforce has rapidly expanded to increase access to substance-use disorder services for underserved communities. PRSs are not typically trained in evidence-based interventions (EBIs) outside of motivational interviewing, although evidence demonstrates the feasibility of PRS delivery of certain EBIs, such as a brief behavioral intervention, behavioral activation. However, characteristics that predict PRS competency in delivering EBIs such as behavioral activation remain unknown, and are critical for PRS selection, training, and supervision if the PRS role is expanded.

Patient experiences of COVID-19-induced changes to methadone treatment in a large community-based opioid treatment program in Baltimore.

Introduction: Following the March 2020 federal declaration of a COVID-19 public health emergency, in line with recommendations for social distancing and decreased congregation, federal agencies issued sweeping regulation changes to facilitate access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment. These changes allowed patients new to treatment to receive multiple days of take-home medications (THM) and to use remote technology for treatment encounters-allowances that previously had been reserved exclusively for "stable" patients who met minimum adherence and time-in-treatment criteria. The impact of these changes on low-income, minoritized patients (frequently the largest recipients of opioid treatment program [OTP]-based addiction care), however, is not well characterized.

Peer Recovery Coaches Perceptions of Their Work and Their Implications for Training, Support and Personal Recovery.

The peer recovery workforce, including individuals in sustained recovery from substance use, has grown rapidly in the previous decades. Peer recovery coaches represent a scalable, resource-efficient, and acceptable approach to increasing service delivery, specifically among individuals receiving substance use services in low-resource communities. Despite the potential to improve access to care in traditionally underserved settings, there are a number of barriers to successfully integrating peer recovery coaches in existing recovery services.

Peer recovery specialist-delivered, behavioral activation intervention to improve retention in methadone treatment: Results from an open-label, Type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation pilot trial.

Background: Despite the efficacy of methadone to treat opioid use disorder (OUD), retention is an urgent priority, particularly among low-income, minoritized populations. Peer recovery specialists are well-positioned to engage vulnerable patients, particularly when trained in an evidence-based intervention to promote retention. This hybrid effectiveness-implementation pilot trial aimed to demonstrate the proof of concept of a peer recovery specialist-delivered behavioral activation and problem solving-based approach (Peer Activate) to improve methadone retention.

Assessing Progress Toward the Vision of a Comprehensive, Shared Electronic Care Plan: Scoping Review.

Background: Care plans are central to effective care delivery for people with multiple chronic conditions. But existing care plans-which typically are difficult to share across care settings and care team members-poorly serve people with multiple chronic conditions, who often receive care from numerous clinicians in multiple care settings. Comprehensive, shared electronic care (e-care) plans are dynamic electronic tools that facilitate care coordination and address the totality of health and social needs across care contexts.

Female genital mutilation and cutting in the Arab League and diaspora: A systematic review of preventive interventions.

Objectives: Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) is an act of gender-based violence (GBV) and a global public health issue with well-documented adverse outcomes. With the rise in global migration, there is an increasing prevalence of FGM/C among Arab diaspora living in the West and Global South. What remains unclear is how to reduce the practice.