By Elizabeth Evans, University of Massachusetts Amherst, December 20
Gender-tailored methods to address the harmful mental health effects of childhood adversity may help alleviate the current opioid crisis and make treatment more effective, concludes University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiology researcher Elizabeth Evans in her latest research about opioid use disorder (OUD).
Looking for new ways to address the public health emergency that the opioid crisis has created, Evans and colleagues examined gender differences in associations between mental health conditions and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) among adults with opioid use disorder.
The study, published in the international journal Addictive Behaviors, suggests that treatment for OUD and mental health conditions, especially in the case of women, should be integrated in settings that also provide child care and create a supportive environment to address stigma and shame. "Women are often treated for OUD in predominantly male settings," she says. "The care to address OUD and mental health conditions needs to be coordinated, and women's fears need to be addressed," such as concern over potential loss of parental rights if they seek treatment.
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