The Authors' Own Words Archives

The Authors’ Own Words: An opioid overdose curriculum for medical residents: impact on naloxone prescribing, knowledge, and attitudes

Jan 22, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

An opioid overdose curriculum for medical residents: impact on naloxone prescribing, knowledge, and attitudes

Jessica L. Taylor, MD; Alison B. Rapoport, MD; Christopher F. Rowley, MD; Kenneth J. Mukamal, MD; &Wendy Stead, MD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“Our work builds upon prior medical education research in opioid overdose prevention showing that internal medicine residents know about naloxone and are willing to prescribe, but few have written prescriptions themselves. Our curricular intervention appeared to increase resident knowledge, improve attitudes surrounding naloxone and addiction, and increase self-reported naloxone prescribing. Most importantly, it increased observed prescribing rates to levels that might plausibly impact mortality. To our knowledge, our confirmation of self-reported gains with objective prescribing data represents a novel contribution to the literature. Results demonstrate that the gap between resident interest in opioid overdose prevention and action can be bridged by a brief, targeted intervention.”

The Authors’ Own Words: “Being able to speak,” What individuals in jail perceived as helpful about participating in alcohol-related brief interventions

Jan 22, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

“Being able to speak,” What individuals in jail perceived as helpful about participating in alcohol-related brief interventions

Mandy D. Owens, PhD; Megan Kirouac, MS; Kylee Hagler, MS; Lauren N. Rowell, MS; & Emily C. Williams, PhD, MPH

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“Individuals with substance use disorders who are incarcerated in jails are understudied and there is a need to improve treatments for this population. The current study showed that individuals in jails who have substance use disorders found it helpful to talk individually with someone else about their own situations, and that other aspects also were beneficial, such as watching educational videos and discussing plans for release. These results highlight the benefits of eliciting feedback from individuals with substance use disorders to inform future treatment efforts, and suggest that these individuals are open to therapeutic interventions while they are in jail.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Barriers and Facilitators to Dispensing of Intranasal Naloxone by Pharmacists

Jan 21, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Barriers and Facilitators to Dispensing of Intranasal Naloxone by Pharmacists

Ludmila N. Bakhireva, MD, PhD, MPH; Adriana Bautista, MD, MPH; Sandra Cano, MA; Shikhar Shrestha, BPharm, MS; Amy M. Bachyrycz, PharmD; & Theresa H. Cruz, PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“This mixed-method study, conducted among New Mexico pharmacists, identified specific barriers and facilitators to dispensing intra-nasal naloxone (INN) and examined the association between these barriers/facilitators and the frequency of INN dispensing. Although New Mexico pharmacists had INN prescriptive authority for over two years and standing orders for more than four months at the time of the study, fewer than half of respondents had ever dispensed INN using either mechanism. One reason for these missed opportunities may be pharmacist concerns about dispensing INN, which were associated with decreased dispensing, even after controlling for other factors. The study also identified that system-level factors, such as supply, reimbursement, type of pharmacy practice, and support from managers, might be important contributors. This study identified a strong need for additional training/education for patients, caregivers, the general public, and pharmacists.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Outpatient Continuing Care after Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration: Facilitators and Challenges

Jan 21, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Outpatient Continuing Care after Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration: Facilitators and Challenges

Anna D. Rubinsky, PhD, MS; Laura S. Ellerbe, MS; Shalini Gupta, MS; Tyler E. Phelps, MLIS, MS; Thomas Bowe, PhD; Jennifer L. Burden, PhD; & Alex H. S. Harris, PhD, MS

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“We found wide variation in rates of outpatient continuing care across VHA’s 97 residential SUD treatment programs, despite policy requirements for follow-up care within a week of discharge, suggesting substantial opportunity for quality improvement. These findings also suggest that administrative data-based metrics could be useful for monitoring SUD continuing care following residential treatment. Moreover, this study identified key facilitators of and barriers to SUD continuing care. The candidate “best practices” from high-performing programs could inform the design and testing of targeted quality improvement strategies to improve rates of SUD continuing care, particularly in low-performing programs that may be high-value targets for quality improvement.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Association between binge drug use and suicide attempt among people who inject drugs

Jan 20, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Association between binge drug use and suicide attempt among people who inject drugs

Charles Fournier, MD; Maykel Farag Ghabrash, MD, MSc; Adelina Artenie, MSc; Elise Roy, MD, MSc; Geng Zang, MSc; Julie Bruneau, MD, MSc; & Didier Jutras-Aswad, MD, MSc

Substance Abuse Vol. 39, Iss. 3, 2018

“People who inject drugs (PWID) constitute a particularly vulnerable subgroup among individuals with drug dependence, and have an elevated risk of suicide attempt. Using a biannual interviewer-administered questionnaire, we examined the relationship between suicide attempt and binge behavior using generalized estimating equations. Our article highlights a positive association between binge drug use and suicide attempt after controlling for sociodemographic factors, substance use patterns, and psychological factors. The results suggest thatmeticulous assessment and preventive interventions are critical in minimizing risk of suicide attempt in this population, and that specific attention should be paid to binge drug use in that regard. It also underlines the need for more research to better understand the complex interplay between substance misuse and mental health.”