Treatment outcomes for substance use disorder among women of reproductive age in Massachusetts: a population-based approach

Abstract

Introduction: Longitudinal patterns of treatment utilization and relapse among women of reproductive age with substance use disorder (SUD) are not well known. In this statewide report spanning seven years we describe SUD prevalence, SUD treatment utilization, and differences in subsequent emergency department (ED) use and post-treatment relapse rates by type of treatment: none, 'acute only' (detoxification/stabilization), or 'ongoing' services.

Methods: We linked a statewide dataset of hospital discharge, observation stay and ED records with SUD treatment admission records from hospitals and freestanding facilities, and birth/fetal death certificates, in Massachusetts, 2002-2008. We aggregated episodes into individual woman records, identified evidence of SUD and treatment, and tested post-treatment outcomes.

Results: Nearly 150,000 (8.5%) of 1.7 million Massachusetts women aged 15-49 were identified as SUD-positive. Nearly half of SUD-positive women (71,533 or 48.3%) had evidence of hospital or facility-based SUD treatment; among these, 12% received acute care/detoxification only while 88% obtained 'ongoing' treatment. Treatment varied by substance type; women with dual diagnosis and those with opiate use were least likely to receive 'ongoing' treatment. Treated women were older and less likely to have a psychiatric history or chronic illness. Women who received 'acute only' services were more likely to relapse (12.4% vs. 9.6%) and had a 10% higher rate of ED visits post-treatment than women receiving 'ongoing' treatment.

Conclusions: Many Massachusetts women of reproductive age need but do not receive adequate SUD treatment. 'Ongoing' services beyond detoxification/stabilization may reduce the likelihood of post-treatment relapse and/or reliance on the ED for subsequent medical care.

Keywords: Detoxification; Gender; Substance abuse treatment utilization; Substance use disorder; Women's health.

Figure 1

Strobe Diagram of Sample Selection: Linkage of Multi-source Discharge Datasets* to Identify Substance Use Disorder among Massachusetts Women of Reproductive Age, 2002–2008 Note. CHIA (Database of Massachusetts hospital discharge, ED visit, observational stay records); BSAS (Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Abuse Dataset); PELL (Pregnancy and Early Life Longitudinal Data System)