Substance Use and Race and Ethnicity - New ASPE Issue Brief

In November 2023, a new Issue Brief was released by The Office of the Assistance Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This brief "assesses whether and how rates of substance use and substance use disorder (SUD) among adults (ages 18 and older) differ by race and ethnicity. The authors combine five years of data, 2015-2019, from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to create sample sizes large enough to examine specific racial and ethnic groups for specific categories of drug use."

‘‘Understanding substance use and SUD by race and ethnicity is critical to informing equitable policy and culturally effective prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts that can help address disparities in health and well-being,” notes the brief. See here for an ASPE list of resources related to this topic. Also, note that the Integration Academy has published Topic Briefs on Health Equity and Low-Threshold Treatment for Patients with OUD, which include more links to references and practical resources. In addition, the Substance Use Tools & Resources Collection includes items related to social determinants of health, and the Academy Literature Collection includes references on healthcare disparities.

The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) and HHS/ASPE Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy (BHDAP), funded this research through a contract to Urban Institute. Additional research in this area is available at the ASPE Behavioral Health page.