AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF RECENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT ON CURRENT OPIOID USE

Abstract

ABSTRACT The opioid epidemic in the United States has become a public health crisis affecting many American communities. Effective treatment is vital in fighting the opioid epidemic. Existing evidence suggests that providing opioid users with opioid treatment programs (OTPs) is an effective method of treatment that will also provide these users with the best health and social outcomes. A significant barrier to treatment for opioid abusers is access to treatment. The focus of this study was to examine if substance abuse and mental health treatment in the past 12 months have an effect on the amount of days of current opioid use when controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, health insurance, and employment. Current opioid use is defined as one to thirty days (1- 30 days) in this study. The data source consisted of the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Prevalence estimates were calculated using a Factorial Analysis of Variance to assess the effect of substance abuse and mental health treatment as directed by this study. The study results for examining if substance abuse and mental health treatment in the past 12 months had an effect on the amount of days of current opioid use indicated a statistically significant difference (F(1, 86) = 4.332, p =.040), accounting for (8.9%) of the variance.