Development of an Electronic Screening and Brief Intervention to Address Perinatal Substance Use in Home Visiting: Qualitative User-Centered Approach

Journal: JMIR Formative Research, 2022, doi: 10.2196/37865

Authors: Sarah Dauber, Cori Hammond, Aaron Hogue, Craig Henderson, Jessica Nugent, Veronica Ford, Jill Brown, Lenore Scott & Steven Ondersma

Abstract:

Background: Perinatal substance use (SU) is prevalent during pregnancy and the postpartum period and may increase the risks to maternal and child health. Many pregnant and postpartum women do not seek treatment for SU because of fear of child removal. Home visiting (HV), a voluntary supportive program for high-risk families during the perinatal period, is a promising avenue for addressing unmet SU needs. Confidential delivery of screening and brief intervention (BI) for SU via computers has demonstrated high user satisfaction among pregnant and postpartum women as well as efficacy in reducing perinatal SU. This study describes the development of the electronic screening and BI for HV (e–SBI-HV), a digital screening and BI program that is adapted from an existing electronic screening and BI (e-SBI) for perinatal SU and tailored to the HV context.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the user-centered intervention development process that informed the adaptation of the original e-SBI into the e–SBI-HV, present specific themes extracted from the user-centered design process that directly informed the e–SBI-HV prototype and describe the e–SBI-HV prototype.

Methods: Adaptation of the original e-SBI into the e–SBI-HV followed a user-centered design process that included 2 phases of interviews with home visitors and clients. The first phase focused on adaptation and the second phase focused on refinement. Themes were extracted from the interviews using inductive coding methods and systematically used to inform e–SBI-HV adaptations. Participants included 17 home visitors and 7 clients across 3 Healthy Families America programs in New Jersey.

Results: The e–SBI-HV is based on an existing e-SBI for perinatal SU that includes screening participants for SU followed by a brief motivational intervention. On the basis of the themes extracted from the user-centered design process, the original e-SBI was adapted to address population-specific motivating factors, address co-occurring problems, address concerns about confidentiality, acknowledge fear of child protective services, capitalize on the home visitor–client relationship, and provide information about SU treatment while acknowledging that many clients prefer not to access the formal treatment system. The full e–SBI-HV prototype included 2 digital intervention sessions and home visitor facilitation protocols.

Conclusions: This study describes a user-centered approach for adapting an existing e-SBI for SU for use in the HV context. Despite the described challenges, home visitors and clients generally reacted favorably to the e–SBI-HV, noting that it has the potential to fill a significant gap in HV services. If proven effective, the e–SBI-HV could provide a way for clients to receive help with SU within HV, while maintaining their privacy and avoiding the overburdening of home visitors. The next step in this study would be to test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the e–SBI-HV.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Association Between Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Mortality by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex Among US Adults

Journal: JAMA Network Open, 2022, doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.31480

Authors: Blake Thomson, Jonathan Emberson, Ben Lacey, Sarah Lewington, Richard Peto, Ahmedin Jemal & Farhad Islami

Abstract:

Importance: Patterns of cigarette smoking and smoking cessation vary considerably across demographic groups in the US, but there is limited evidence on whether the hazards of smoking and benefits of quitting vary across these groups. Population-specific evidence on the benefits of quitting smoking may motivate cessation among groups historically underrepresented in medical research.

Objective: To quantify the association between smoking, smoking cessation, and mortality by race, ethnicity, and sex.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This nationally representative, prospective cohort study used data from the US National Health Interview Survey collected via questionnaire between January 1997 and December 2018 among adults aged 25 to 84 years at recruitment. Participants were followed up for cause-specific mortality through December 31, 2019.

Exposures: Self-reported smoking status at recruitment, age at quitting smoking, and years since quitting smoking.

Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were all-cause mortality and mortality from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and lower respiratory disease. Adjusted mortality rate ratios comparing never, former, and current smokers were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Weighted analyses were conducted by race, ethnicity, and sex as reported by participants.

Results: Among the 551 388 participants in the main analyses, the mean (SD) age at recruitment was 48.9 (15.3) years; 307 601 (55.8%) were women, 87 207 (15.8%) were Hispanic, 75 545 (13.7%) were non-Hispanic Black, 355 782 (64.5%) were non-Hispanic White, and 32 854 (6.0%) identified as other non-Hispanic race and ethnicity. There were 74 870 deaths among participants aged 25 to 89 years during follow-up (36 792 [49.1%] among men; 38 078 [50.9%] among women). The all-cause mortality rate ratio (RR) for current vs never smoking was 2.80 (95% CI, 2.73-2.88) overall. The RRs were similar by sex but varied by race and ethnicity: Hispanic, 2.01 (95% CI, 1.84-2.18); non-Hispanic Black, 2.19 (95% CI, 2.06-2.33); non-Hispanic White, 3.00 (95% CI, 2.91-3.10); and other non-Hispanic race and ethnicity, 2.16 (95% CI, 1.88-2.47). When comparing those who quit smoking before age 45 years with never smokers, all-cause mortality RRs were 1.15 (95% CI, 1.03-1.28) among Hispanic individuals, 1.16 (95% CI, 1.07-1.25) among non-Hispanic Black individuals, 1.11 (95% CI, 1.08-1.15) among non-Hispanic White individuals, and 1.17 (95% CI, 0.99-1.39) among other non-Hispanic individuals.

Conclusions and Relevance: In this prospective cohort study, among men and women from diverse racial and ethnic groups, current smoking was associated with at least twice the all-cause mortality rate of never smoking. Quitting smoking, particularly at younger ages, was associated with substantial reductions in the relative excess mortality associated with continued smoking.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

The Overdose Response Strategy: Reducing Drug Overdose Deaths Through Strategic Partnership Between Public Health and Public Safety

Journal: Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 2022, doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001580

Authors: Jessica Wolff, Stephanie Gitukui, Mallory O’Brien, Sasha Mital & Rita K. Noonan

Abstract:

Context: Public health and public safety collaborations can strengthen and improve efforts to address the worsening drug overdose crisis.

Program: The Overdose Response Strategy is addressing this need through a national public health and public safety program designed to foster the cross-sector sharing of timely data, pertinent intelligence, and evidence-based and innovative strategies to prevent and respond to drug overdose.

Implementation: Since 2015, the Overdose Response Strategy has been implemented by state-based public health and public safety teams who work together to prevent and respond to drug overdoses within and across sectors, states, and territories. The public health and public safety teams share data systems to inform rapid and effective community overdose prevention efforts; support immediate, evidence-based response efforts that can directly reduce overdose deaths; design and use promising strategies at the intersection of public health and public safety; and use effective and efficient primary prevention strategies that can reduce substance use and overdose long term. Implementation of the Overdose Response Strategy aligns with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strategic Partnering Framework.

Evaluation: The evaluation of the Overdose Response Strategy, which is currently underway, is based on 2 evaluation approaches: Collective Impact and Organizational Network Analysis. These approaches provide a way to look at the strength of the relationship between public health and public safety and the way the relationship is leveraged to advance program goals and objectives.

Discussion: The Overdose Response Strategy serves as a strategic partnership model that can potentially be applied to other issues, such as gun violence, that may benefit from public health and public safety collaboration.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Targeted Oral Naltrexone for Mild to Moderate Alcohol Use Disorder Among Sexual and Gender Minority Men: A Randomized Trial

Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry, 2022, doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20220335

Authors: Glenn-Milo Santos, Janet Ikeda, Phillip Coffin, John Walker, Tim Matheson, Arsheen Ali, Matthew, … Steven Batki

Abstract:

Objective: The authors sought to determine the efficacy of targeted naltrexone in sexual and gender minority men (SGM) who binge drink and have mild to moderate alcohol use disorder.

Methods: In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, a total of 120 SGM who binge drink and have mild to moderate alcohol use disorder were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive targeted oral naltrexone (50 mg) or placebo with weekly counseling for 12 weeks. The study’s primary endpoints were binge-drinking intensity, defined as 1) number of drinks in the past 30 days; 2) any binge drinking in the past week; 3) number of binge-drinking days in the past week; and 4) number of drinking days in the past week. The study also measured changes in alcohol use with two alcohol biomarker measures: ethyl glucuronide in urine samples and phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in dried blood spot samples.

Results: Ninety-three percent completed the trial, with 85% of weekly follow-up visits completed. In intention-to-treat analyses, naltrexone was associated with a significantly reduced reported number of binge-drinking days (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.74, 95% CI=0.56, 0.98; number needed to treat [NNT]=2), weeks with any binge drinking (IRR=0.83, 95% CI=0.72, 0.96; NNT=7.4), number of drinks per month (IRR=0.69, 95% CI=0.52, 0.91; NNT=5.7 for 10 drinks), and alcohol craving scores (coefficient=−9.25, 95% CI=−17.20, −1.31). In as-treated analyses among those who took their medication on average at least 2.5 days per week (the median frequency in the study), naltrexone reduced any binge drinking (IRR=0.84, 95% CI=0.71, 0.99), number of binge-drinking days (IRR=0.67, 95% CI=0.47, 0.96), and PEth concentrations (coefficient=−55.47, 95% CI=−110.75, −0.20). At 6 months posttreatment, naltrexone had sustained effects in number of drinks per month (IRR=0.69, 95% CI=0.50, 0.97), number of binge-drinking days (IRR=0.67, 95% CI=0.47, 0.95), and any binge drinking in the past week (IRR=0.79, 95% CI=0.63, 0.99).

Conclusions: Targeted naltrexone significantly reduced drinking outcomes among SGM with mild to moderate alcohol use disorder during treatment, with sustained effects at 6 months posttreatment. Naltrexone may be an important pharmacotherapy to address binge drinking in populations with mild to moderate alcohol use disorder.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Variations of Cannabis-Related Adverse Mental Health and Addiction Outcomes across Adolescence and Adulthood: A Scoping Review

Journal: Front Psychiatry, 2022, doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.973988

Authors: Navdeep Kaur, Gabriel Bastien, Lea Gagnon, Johann Graham, Violaine Mongeau-Pérusse, Hamzah Bakouni, … Didier Jutras-Aswad

Abstract:

Introduction: Evidence supporting associations between cannabis use and many health outcomes is growing, however it remains unclear how such associations vary across the lifespan. We therefore aim to answer the following questions: (1) Are the risks of cannabis’s adverse effects on mental health and addiction-related outcomes different in adolescents than in adults? (2) What are the relationships between these cannabis’s adverse effects and (a) an individual’s age at first cannabis use, (b) age at assessment, and (c) duration of cannabis use?

Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and PsychINFO from inception to 18 October 2021. Two reviewers independently screened studies and descriptively synthesized results.

Results: We included 140 studies. Cannabis effects on mental health and addiction-related outcomes were worse in adolescents, early cannabis initiators and cannabis users who consumed for longest periods. Evidence of worse long-term adverse effects in adolescents was substantial for psychosis, cannabis, and nicotine use disorders; mixed for depression, suicidality, other substance use and disorders; and limited for anxiety. Additionally, acute cannabis exposure had the opposite trend with adults more often reporting adverse effects than adolescents.

Conclusion: The available evidence suggests that cannabis use should be delayed as late as possible in adulthood and shortened in duration across the lifespan to decrease the risk of negative outcomes, while emphasizing the need for adapted harm reduction approaches. This scoping review provides evidence on the role of age and duration of exposure as determinants of cannabis-related adverse effects, which may inform prevention and harm reduction strategies.

Systematic review registration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BYG72.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.