Generational and Gender Patterns of Prescription Opioid Misuse Among Black Adults.

INTRODUCTION: Opioid-related overdose mortality disproportionally affects Black adults in Kentucky, particularly overdoses associated with prescription opioid misuse (POM). Black adults also face other consequences of POM, such as disparate health and legal outcomes. While several factors effect POM, such as generational factors and gender, these risk factors are understudied among Black adults with a history of POM. Current literature primarily focuses on White individuals who use opioids. METHOD: The present study qualitatively examined reasons for POM, prescription opioids misused, how prescription opioids are obtained, and initiation of POM among Black adults using thematic analysis. Participants included a sample (n = 39) of Black adults from a southern state, stratified by gender and age across four cohorts: born (1) 1995-2001, (2) 1980-1994, (3) 1970-1979, and (4) 1955-1969. RESULTS: Results revealed similarities and differences in these themes across age cohorts and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for findings include the importance of culturally responsive interventions that utilize dual diagnosis treatment and idiographic approaches due to heterogeneous experiences with POM among Black adults.

Potentially Traumatic Events of Women of Color in an Urban Adult Basic Education Program.

Adult Basic Education (ABE) in the United States is an important tool for underrepresented and underserved communities to achieve the goal of high school graduation following noncompletion of K-12 education. Largely in urban settings, ABE centers serve millions of students annually, especially historically and contemporarily marginalized groups. ABE provides critical resources and skills to meet the educational needs of diverse peoples seeking to advance their station in life. ABE centers may serve students with potentially traumatic events (PTE), diagnosable trauma, and related poorer outcomes. Alarmingly, a paucity of research exists that examines the presence of PTEs for ABE students, particularly people and women of color. In the present research, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item measures were used to weigh depression and anxiety scores across the Life Events Checklist for the DSM-5 (LEC-5) trauma types in a sample (N=170) of predominantly women of color. We examined three respondent groups based on proximity and frequency of PTEs: (1) denied; (2) witnessed/learned about; and (3) experienced. Results indicate that those experiencing higher levels of PTEs (namely, sexual assault, unwanted/uncomfortable sexual experience, and sudden accidental death) also experienced higher ratings of depression and anxiety. More research is indicated, as women of color within ABE settings could benefit from tailored resources for prevention, intervention, and treatment.

"Can we get a Black rehabilitation center"? Factors impacting the treatment experiences of Black people who use opioids.

INTRODUCTION: With opioid overdose rates doubling in the state of Kentucky over the last year, the opioid crisis is having a deadly impact on the state. Among Black individuals in particular, overdose rates have increased by nearly a third. As such, we must examine ways to effectively intervene to reduce deaths among this underrepresented population. METHOD: The current study utilized a thematic analysis to examine factors influencing treatment perceptions and experiences among a sample of 39 Black adults with a recent history of opioid use. RESULTS: The primary themes highlighted in the study included "autonomous accessibility," "provider characteristics," and "relational support," which are aligned with Self-Determination Theory. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss how these themes relate to treatment initiation, engagement, and completion and discuss implications of this research in treatment for Black adults. Specifically, we discuss treatment considerations among Black adults who use prescription opioids such as ensuring autonomy and a collaborative approach to treatment, especially in mandated treatment, with strategies such as motivational interviewing. Further, we discuss the importance of nonjudgmental providers, gauging client preferences for racially, ethnically, and gender matched providers; and we assess support networks among clients and how these networks can be integrated or utilized in treatment planning.

Best practices for researching diverse groups.

The elimination of health and other disparities requires high quality and methodologically sound research on racial/ethnic minorities. Despite a general consensus on the need for valid research on racial/ethnic minorities, few guidelines are available. This article contributes to closing this gap by discussing examples and strategies for addressing concrete issues that researchers may face during these stages of the scientific process: planning and literature review (identifying meaningful gaps and appropriate theoretical perspectives), design (caveats of race-comparison, selection of appropriate terminology), measurement (measurement equivalence, effects of ethnicity of the interviewer/coder), recruitment (barriers and strategies to facilitate recruitment), data analysis (use of norms derived from other groups, hazards of combining ethnic groups in the analyses), and dissemination of study findings to professional and lay audiences. Applying appropriate methodology will result in research that may impact disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).