Smoking prevalence in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) is over 80%. Research suggests that opioid use significantly increases smoking, which could account for the strikingly low smoking-cessation rates observed in both methadone- and buprenorphine-maintained patients, even with the use of first-line smoking-cessation interventions. If opioids present a barrier to smoking-cessation, then better smoking outcomes should be observed in OUD patients treated with extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX, an opioid antagonist) compared to those receiving buprenorphine (BUP-NX, a partial opioid agonist).

The current study is a secondary analysis of a 24-week, multi-site, open-label, randomized clinical trial conducted within the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network comparing the effectiveness of XR-NTX vs. BUP-NX for adults with OUD. Longitudinal mixed effects models were used to determine if there was a significant reduction in cigarette use among daily smokers successfully inducted to treatment (n=373) and a subset of those who completed treatment (n=169).

Among daily smokers inducted onto OUD medication, those in the XR-NTX group smoked fewer cigarettes per day (M=11.36, SE=0.62) relative to smokers in the BUP-NX group (M=13.33, SE=0.58) across all study visits, (b (SE)=-1.97 (0.55), p<.01). Results were similar for the treatment completers.

OUD patients treated with XR-NTX reduced cigarette use more than those treated with BUP-NX, suggesting that XR-NTX in combination with other smoking cessation interventions might be a better choice for OUD smokers interested in reducing their tobacco use.

OUD patients treated with XR-NTX reduced cigarette use more than those treated with BUP-NX, suggesting that XR-NTX in combination with other smoking cessation interventions might be a better choice for OUD smokers interested in reducing their tobacco use.

Stigma is a barrier to accessing treatment and support services for individuals with substance use disorder. Stigma is negatively associated with completion of treatment for substance use disorder and management of recovery.

To learn from individuals in recovery from opioid use disorder in a largely rural area about how their personal experiences of stigma affected their ability to enter into treatment and stay in recovery.

We conducted ten focus group sessions with established cohorts of individuals in recovery who met regularly as part of recovery programs in central Maine, including two cohorts of postpartum women. Focus groups included 58 participants (33 women and 25 men, age>18). We conducted a content analysis of focus group transcripts.

Study participants identified hospitals, government agencies, and pharmacies as the primary locations where they had stigmatizing experiences. Participants identified pharmacists and pharmacy technicians as the most frequent perpetrators of stigma. Participants identified fear and secrecy as pathways through which stigma negatively affected their recovery.

Anti-stigma training programs and related efforts conducted in rural areas may benefit from including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in training activities, and from considering hospital, government agency, and pharmacy settings as venues for anti-stigma interventions.

Anti-stigma training programs and related efforts conducted in rural areas may benefit from including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in training activities, and from considering hospital, government agency, and pharmacy settings as venues for anti-stigma interventions.

Given that mental health and substance use conditions are ongoing major public health problems in the United States, it is important for researchers to understand the behavioral health treatment workforce landscape and to assess whether increases in treatment capacity exist in areas with public health needs.

This study quantified national and county-level changes in specialty behavioral health (SBH) workforce outcomes and assessed associations between these measures and age-adjusted drug mortality rate.

Using a novel longitudinal dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau, this study described SBH workforce outcomes in 3130 U.S. counties between 2011 and 2019. Ilginatinib in vivo The study stratified workforce outcomes, including the number of establishments, likelihood of having establishments, mean number of workers, and average wage of workers per county, by service settings outpatient, residential, and hospital. The study fitted outcome data at the county level to ordinary least squares regression models as a function of the kforce is responding to increased need for treatment; however, more work needs to be done to close behavioral health workforce gaps in areas with an elevated drug overdose mortality rate.

Despite decades of campaigns aimed at reducing tobacco/nicotine (T/N) use and the development of many different T/N reduction and cessation strategies, the impacts on international public health remain significant. Some studies have found an association between medical and non-medical cannabis use and T/N use, although the evidence on whether cannabis/cannabinoids increase or decrease the odds of reducing or ceasing T/N use remain contradictory. This paper explores the self-reported use of cannabis and associated changes in T/N use among a Canadian medical cannabis patient population.

This study examines the impact of medical cannabis on T/N use by comparing self-reported patterns of use before and after the initiation of medical cannabis. Participants completed an online cross-sectional survey examining demographics, patterns of medical cannabis use, and the impact of medical cannabis on the use of T/N and other substances. The survey also included novel measures examining whether patients intended to usease T/N use.

A self-administered tablet app, StaySafe, helps people under community supervision to make better decisions regarding health risk behaviors, especially those linked to HIV, viral hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted infections. The multi-session StaySafe design uses an interactive, analytical schema called WORKIT that guides users through a series of steps, questions, and exercises aimed at promoting critical thinking about health risks associated with substance use and unprotected sex. Repetition of the WORKIT schema is designed to enhance procedural memory that can be rapidly accessed when individuals are faced with making decisions about risky behaviors.

A total of 511 participants under community supervision in community and residential treatment settings from three large Texas counties completed consent forms and baseline surveys, followed by randomization to one of two conditions 12 weekly StaySafe sessions or standard practice (SP). The study also asked participants to complete a follow-up survey three months after baseline.