Comparing Perceptions of Addiction Treatment between Professionals and Individuals in Recovery.

Background: The purpose of this qualitative study was to compare and contrast the differing perspectives of service users and professionals regarding the current substance use disorders (SUD) services provided in Summit County, Ohio. Seven focus groups were conducted with 44 participants (52.3% male, mean age 46 years), including 15 individuals in recovery, 16 direct service providers, and 13 executive directors. The participants were asked about three areas: (1) effective treatment for SUD, (2) challenges for persons with SUD, and (3) suggestions for improving SUD treatment outcomes. The data were analyzed and coded according to major themes. Results: While there were numerous emergent themes that were concordant between service use and professionals, several differing themes between the groups were also identified. First, participants disagreed on the effectiveness of medication-assisted treatment/Medications for Opioid Use Disorder. Second, professionals identified trauma, stigma, "one-size-fits-all" approach to treatment, and limitations set by managed care act as barriers to treatment, whereas individuals in recovery reported difficulty dealing with feelings, feeling of being rushed into recovery, and the lack of long-term recovery plans as the most significant barriers. Lastly, in order to improve treatment outcomes, professionals emphasized the importance of education unlike individuals in recovery who identified sober supports as the most important factor. Conclusion: This study identified challenges in SUD recovery and highlights essential areas for consideration when developing and implementing SUD treatment. The findings can be used as guidelines to provide better services to individuals with SUDs.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2022.2058706 .

Transactional sex involvement: exploring risk and promotive factors among substance-using youth in an urban emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to evaluate individual, relational, and community-level risk and promotive factors for transactional sex involvement among substance-using youth. METHOD: Youth (ages 14-24 years) presenting for care in an urban emergency department, who reported drug use within the past 6 months, were surveyed as part of a larger study assessing violence. Of the 600 youth enrolled in this study, 350 presented to the emergency department with violent injury. Based on youth presenting with violent injury, a proportionally selected (age and gender) comparison group of youth (n = 250) presenting without violent injury were enrolled. Participants were queried about both risk and promotive factors at the individual, relational, and community levels. RESULTS: Of the sample, 7.3% reported involvement in transactional sex within the past month. Regression analyses indicated that being African American or other race (as compared with White), having more than one sexual partner, depressive symptoms, negative peer influence, and substance use treatment utilization were positively associated with transactional sex involvement. Increased school involvement was negatively related to involvement in transactional sex. CONCLUSIONS: Drug-using youth who reported recent transactional sex involvement are more likely to experience increased HIV risk, depressive symptoms, and negative peer influence and are less likely to experience the promotive factors of school involvement. Future research is needed to better understand the bidirectional relationship between transactional sex involvement and both risk and promotive factors at multiple ecological levels.