Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 9;18(1):3.
doi: 10.1186/s13722-022-00357-8.

Developing a Women's Health track within addiction medicine fellowship: reflections and inspirations

Jordana Laks  1   2 , Alexander Y Walley  3 , Sarah M Bagley  3   4 , Cecily M Barber  3   5 , Jessie M Gaeta  3   6 , Linda A Neville  3 , Alyssa F Peterkin  3 , Emily Rosenthal  5 , Kelley A Saia  5 , Zoe M Weinstein  3 , Miriam T H Harris  3
Affiliations

Developing a Women's Health track within addiction medicine fellowship: reflections and inspirations

Jordana Laks et al. Addict Sci Clin Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Women who use drugs face sexism and intersectional stigma that influence their drug use experiences and treatment needs. There is a need to build the capacity of addiction medicine specialists who can deliver gender-responsive services and advance research and policy in women-focused addiction care. We describe the development of a Women's Health track within an addiction medicine fellowship program and reflect on successes, challenges, and future directions.

Main body: The Women's Health track was developed in collaboration between program leaders in Addiction Medicine and Obstetrics/Gynecology. Implementing the track led to the development of women-focused rotations and continuity clinics, as well as enrichment of women's health didactic education for all fellows. The fellowship track spurred interdepartmental mentorship and collaboration on research and advocacy projects.

Conclusion: Addiction medicine fellowships can replicate this curriculum model to advance women-focused education, research, and policy. Future curricula should focus on structural sexism in drug use and addiction treatment throughout a woman's life course.

Keywords: Addiction medicine fellowship; Curriculum development; Medical education; Women’s health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Jones C, Logan J, Gladden M, Bohm MK. Vital Signs: demographic and substance use trends among heroin Users—United States, 2002–2013. MMWR. 2015;64(26):719–725. - PMC - PubMed
    1. VanHouten JP. Drug overdose deaths among women aged 30–64 years—United States, 1999–2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68:1. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6801a1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Green CA. Gender and use of substance abuse treatment services. Alcohol Res Health. 2006;29(1):55–62. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Martin CE, Scialli A, Terplan M. Unmet substance use disorder treatment need among reproductive age women. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020;206:107679. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107679. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Crenshaw K. Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. U of Chicago Legal Forum 1989; Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8. http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8

Publication types