Addiction Medicine Treatment Utilization by Race/Ethnicity Among Adolescents With Substance Use Problems Before Versus During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
J Adolesc Health
; 74(6): 1260-1263, 2024 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38416100
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To examine changes in addiction medicine treatment utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents (aged 13-17 years) and differences by race/ethnicity.METHODS:
We compared treatment initiation (overall and telehealth), engagement, and 12-week retention between insured adolescents with substance use problems during pre-COVID-19 (March to December 2019, n = 1,770) and COVID-19 (March to December 2020, n = 1,177) using electronic health record data from Kaiser Permanente Northern California.RESULTS:
Compared to pre-COVID-19, odds of treatment initiation, overall (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.42 [1.21-1.67]), and telehealth (5.98 [4.59-7.80]) were higher during COVID-19, but odds of engagement and retention did not significantly change. Depending on the outcome, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Latino/Hispanic (vs. White) adolescents had lower treatment utilization across both periods. Changes in utilization over time did not differ by race/ethnicity.DISCUSSION:
Addiction medicine treatment initiation increased among insured adolescents during the pandemic, especially via telehealth. Although racial/ethnic disparities in treatment utilization persisted, they did not worsen.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Substance-Related Disorders
/
COVID-19
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
J Adolesc Health
/
J. adolesc. health
/
Journal of adolescent health
Journal subject:
PEDIATRIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
United States