219: New Opioid Use Disorder Infographics

ROBERT JOHNSON:

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, July 14th, 2022. I'm Robert Johnson.

Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

SANAA AKBARALI:

Over the past decade, we've seen substance use increase year to year and rates of opioid use disorder, at-delivery hospitalization more than quadrupled.

JOHNSON:

ASTHO's senior director for maternal and infant health, Sanaa Akbarali, talking about the growing trend of pregnant and postpartum people with opioid use disorder. Now, there's a series of infographics developed from work ASTHO did with the CDC and a community of states offering strategies to improve care for maternal and child populations impacted by the opioid epidemic.

AKBARALI:

First, we identified extending access to medication for opioid use disorder, or MOUD. Expanding access to MOUD is an evidence-based treatment protocol, and methadone and buprenorphine are first-line treatment options for pregnant women along with behavioral health services.

And the second strategy we identified with improving family-centered care. Family-centered care emphasize the focus on the parent-child relationship while providing holistic support to families.

And finally, the third strategy highlighted in the infographics is implementing plans of care. So, developing plans of safe care for caregivers with substance use disorders and been through a prenatally exposed to opioids is really critical to ensuring families are connected to appropriate medical services.

JOHNSON:

The group also recommends states and territories identify and engage stakeholders, standardize their processes, and to build health equity into everything they do.

AKBARALI:

This includes implementing culturally competent systems and training, adapting healthcare delivery to meet a person's social, cultural, and linguistic needs, and using person-centered, non-stigmatizing language to reduce barriers to access.

JOHNSON:

You can read more about the OMNI learning community project and download the infographics using the link in the show notes.

Akbarali is part of an ASTHO team that has produced a special supplement for the American Journal of Public Health on equitable and accessible contraception access. Several ASTHO experts spent a year and a half working on the project with the Coalition to Expand Contraceptive Access. You can read it using the link in the show notes.

ASTHO's Health Equity Summit 2022 is less than two weeks away, but you still have plenty of time to sign up for the event. The online discussion is set for Wednesday, July 27th. It'll examine how public health officials are working to improve health equity building on lessons learned during the pandemic. You can read more about it and sign up using the link in the show notes.

Finally today, Palau's minister of health Gaffar Uherbelau joins his colleagues in the Pacific Islands recently to strategize on health equity and human rights issues. We caught up with him during the meeting. Here's what he had to say about the conversation.

GAFFAR UHERBELAU:

It was good to know that we're not alone in dealing with a lot of these issues. I think it's known that it's some of the issues are common across the region and, of course, in the respective jurisdictions. But also, it's good to see that there's best practices and ideas that we can share throughout the region that we can adapt and then perhaps implement in our own jurisdiction. But really, you know, leading towards hopefully a more regional approach as well with the common issues that we face across the region.

JOHNSON:

Uherbelau is talking about health equity and human rights during a panel planned as part of the upcoming Health Equity Summit. Health officials from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will join him in the discussion. Again, you can sign up for the free event using the link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information.

I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.