Receipt of Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder in the Veterans Health Administration: Comparison of Rates at the Intersections of Racialized and Ethnic Identity With Both Sex and Transgender Status.
Rachel L Bachrach, Madeline C Frost, Olivia V Fletcher, Jessica A Chen, Matthew Chinman, Robert Ellis, Emily C Williams
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Medications for alcohol use disorder (MAUDs) are recommended for patients with alcohol use disorder yet are underprescribed. Consistent with Minority Stress and Intersectionality theories, persons with multiple sociodemographically marginalized identities (eg, Black women) often experience greater barriers to care and have poorer health outcomes. We use data from the Veterans Health Administration to assess disparities in Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved MAUDs and all effective MAUDs between the following groups: racialized and ethnic identity, sex, transgender status, and their intersections.
Methods: Among all Veterans Health Administration outpatients between August 1, 2015, and July 31, 2017, with documented alcohol screenings and an International Classification of Diseases diagnosis for alcohol use disorder in the 0-365 days prior (N = 308,238), we estimated the prevalence and 95% confidence intervals of receiving FDA-approved MAUDs and any MAUDs in the following year and compared them using χ2 or Fisher's exact test. Analyses are unadjusted to present true prevalence and group differences.
Results: The overall prevalence for MAUDs was low (FDA-MAUDs = 8.7%, any MAUDs = 20.0%). Within sex, Black males had the lowest rate of FDA-MAUDs (7.3%, [7.1-7.5]), whereas American Indian/Alaskan Native females had the highest (18.4%, [13.8-23.0]). Among those identified as transgender, Asian and Black transgender persons had the lowest rates of FDA-MAUDs (0%; 4.3%, [1.8-8.5], respectively), whereas American Indian/Alaskan Native transgender patients had the highest (33.3%, [2.5-64.1]). Similar patterns were observed for any MAUDs, with higher rates overall.
Conclusions: Substantial variation exists in MAUD prescribing, with marginalized veterans disproportionately receiving MAUDs at lower and higher rates than average. Implementation and quality improvement efforts are needed to improve MAUD prescribing practices and reduce disparities.
期刊介绍:
The mission of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, is to promote excellence in the practice of addiction medicine and in clinical research as well as to support Addiction Medicine as a mainstream medical sub-specialty.
Under the guidance of an esteemed Editorial Board, peer-reviewed articles published in the Journal focus on developments in addiction medicine as well as on treatment innovations and ethical, economic, forensic, and social topics including:
•addiction and substance use in pregnancy
•adolescent addiction and at-risk use
•the drug-exposed neonate
•pharmacology
•all psychoactive substances relevant to addiction, including alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, marijuana, opioids, stimulants and other prescription and illicit substances
•diagnosis
•neuroimaging techniques
•treatment of special populations
•treatment, early intervention and prevention of alcohol and drug use disorders
•methodological issues in addiction research
•pain and addiction, prescription drug use disorder
•co-occurring addiction, medical and psychiatric disorders
•pathological gambling disorder, sexual and other behavioral addictions
•pathophysiology of addiction
•behavioral and pharmacological treatments
•issues in graduate medical education
•recovery
•health services delivery
•ethical, legal and liability issues in addiction medicine practice
•drug testing
•self- and mutual-help.