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. 2022 Dec 15;3(1):998-1005.
doi: 10.1089/whr.2022.0057. eCollection 2022.

Health Status and Preventive Health Services Among Reproductive-Aged Women in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Vanessa L Short  1 , Dennis J Hand  1 , Lauren Pyfer  2 , Hanna Steiger  1 , Meghan Gannon  1 , Gregory Jaffe  2 , Diane J Abatemarco  1
Affiliations

Health Status and Preventive Health Services Among Reproductive-Aged Women in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Vanessa L Short et al. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). .

Abstract

Objective: To assess the utilization of preventive health services and the prevalence of chronic health conditions among a cohort of women in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).

Methods: Ninety-seven women who were receiving treatment for OUD from a single urban treatment program completed a self-administered anonymous online questionnaire that asked about demographics, health, receipt of preventive health services, and utilization of health care. Descriptive statistics were used to describe data.

Results: More than one-third of respondents reported that their health was fair or poor, whereas one-quarter were very concerned with their health. Most participants (59%) reported at least one chronic health condition; nearly 1 in 5 reported two or more conditions. Less than half of respondents had received a routine medical examination in the past year. Vaccine uptake was low; 56% received the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine and 36% received the annual influenza vaccine.

Conclusions: Women in treatment for OUD could benefit from enhanced health care to address the high rates of chronic diseases and risk factors and underutilization of recommended preventive health services. Interventions and models of care that aim to enhance utilization of such services, and ultimately improve the health of this vulnerable population, may be worth exploring.

Keywords: chronic disease; health status; opioid use disorder; preventive health; survey; women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this article.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Self-reported receipt of preventive health services.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Receipt and intended receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019.
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