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. 2022 Sep-Oct;137(5):955-963.
doi: 10.1177/00333549211041554. Epub 2021 Sep 21.

Need for and Receipt of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among Adults, by Gender, in the United States

Caitlin E Martin  1 , Anna Beth Parlier-Ahmad  2 , Lori Beck  3 , Anna Scialli  4 , Mishka Terplan  5
Affiliations

Need for and Receipt of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among Adults, by Gender, in the United States

Caitlin E Martin et al. Public Health Rep. 2022 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: Disparities in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment use persist across groups, including gender. Using a gender-informed approach to expand treatment capacity and reduce barriers to treatment engagement is vital. We examined SUD treatment need and receipt among people with SUD in the United States, by gender, and assessed gender-specific sociodemographic factors associated with unmet need for SUD treatment and reported treatment barriers.

Methods: We conducted an analysis of data among adults aged ≥18 with a past-year SUD from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2018). We computed population-adjusted frequencies and proportions for SUD treatment need and receipt and assessed gender differences. Multivariate logistic regression assessed gender-specific sociodemographic variables associated with SUD treatment receipt.

Results: Among adults with a past-year SUD, 63.4% were men and 36.6% were women (P < .001), only 10.6% received SUD treatment, and a greater percentage of women than men needed treatment for opioid use disorder (11.9% vs 9.9%; P = .002). Receipt of SUD treatment was lowest among women with alcohol use disorder followed by men with alcohol use disorder (7.5% vs 8.9%; P = .052). Non-Latinx Black men had fewer than half the adjusted odds of receiving SUD treatment than non-Latinx White men (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.27-0.71). Latinx women (aOR = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18-0.73) and non-Latinx Black women (aOR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27-0.94) had significantly lower odds of receiving SUD treatment than non-Latinx White women.

Conclusions: As public health efforts target expanding SUD treatment capacity and addressing disparities in use of SUD treatment, interventions informed by gender and culture should be prioritized.

Keywords: addiction; alcohol use disorder; gender; health disparities; opioid use disorder; race; sex.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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