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Residential substance use treatment outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women: Distinct patterns for women enrolled before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Residential substance use treatment outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women: Distinct patterns for women enrolled before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic

Jessica L Chou, Jeffrey G Noel, Catherine Williams, Sharon Spruell, Kevana Nixon, Edward Riedel and Asif Zaarur
Journal of nursing scholarship
03 Aug 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12803
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12803View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access (License Unspecified),  Open

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONSubstance use among pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) is a serious public health concern. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated substance use among the general population including pregnant women, and disrupted operations for substance use treatment centers. Little is known about the outcomes of substance use treatment for PPW before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODData from a longitudinal program evaluation were analyzed to examine outcomes among 136 PPW participating in a residential SUD treatment program, and to explore differences in treatment outcomes for women who enrolled in services before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyses were used to test the significance of change from treatment intake to 6-month post-intake on assessments of substance use, mental health symptoms, and functioning collected to evaluate the Healthy Families Program (HFP), a comprehensive program for PPW located within a gender-specific SUD treatment facility in the United States. RESULTSResults indicated that from treatment intake to follow-up assessment, clients self-reported statistically significant improvements in family functioning and daily functioning as well as reduced days of substance use. Notably, the rate of treatment intakes declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. In separate analyses by subgroup, mental health indicators showed improvements only for clients engaged in treatment before the COVID-19 pandemic and not for clients served during the COVID-19 pandemic, but substance use decreased significantly for both pre-pandemic and pandemic enrollees. CONCLUSIONSpecialized treatment considerations and implications for PPW are discussed, including a need for added emphasis on co-occurring mental health symptoms and family system stress during a pandemic, and the role of nurses in identifying and addressing these concerns. Additionally, potential relapse prevention efforts during COVID-19 for PPW with substance use disorders are examined. CLINICAL RELEVANCEThe present research continues to highlight the importance of specialized treatment programming for PPW with SUDs as well as the potential need for additional recovery support mechanisms to be utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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19 Record Views
2 citations in Web of Science
2 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Nursing
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