Literature Collection

OBJECTIVE: Youth unmet behavioral health needs are at public health crisis status and have worsened since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (Covid-19). Integrating behavioral health services into pediatric primary care has shown efficacy in addressing youth behavioral health needs. However, there is limited guidance on facilitating equitable access to care in this setting, including in triaging access to co-located services (i.e., onsite outpatient behavioral health services with only the behavioral health provider) or to specialty behavioral health services in other clinics within larger health systems. METHODS: A retrospective, comparative study was conducted to examine variability in access to co-located and specialty behavioral health (SBH) services for a pre-Covid-19 cohort (April 2019 to March 2020; n = 367) and a mid-Covid-19 cohort (April 2020 to March 2021; n = 328), while accounting for integrated primary care consultation services. The sample included children 1-18 years old served through a large, inner-city primary care clinic. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between scheduled and attended co-located and SBH visits, pre- and mid-Covid-19 effects, and sociodemographic factors of race and ethnicity, language, health insurance (SES proxy), age, and sex. RESULTS: The majority of youth were not directly scheduled for a co-located or SBH visit but the majority of those scheduled attended their visit(s). The odds of not being directly scheduled for a co-located or SBH visit were greater for the mid-Covid-19 cohort, Black youth, and older youth. Accounting for integrated primary care consultation visits addressed these disparities, with the exception of persisting significant differences in scheduled and attended co-located and SBH visits for Black youth even while accounting for IPC consultation. IMPLICATION: Findings from the current study highlight the effective role of integrated primary care consultation services as facilitating access to initial behavioral health services, especially given that referrals to integrated primary care co-located and SBH services within the larger health system often involve barriers to care such as longer wait-times and increased lack of referral follow through. Ongoing research and equitable program development are needed to further this work.

Background: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) improve outcomes for pregnant women and infants. Our primary aim was to examine disparities in maternal MOUD receipt by family sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included mother-infant dyads with Medicaid-covered deliveries in Tennessee from 2009 to 2016. First, we examined family sociodemographic characteristics - including race/ethnicity, rurality, mother's primary language and education level, and whether paternity was recorded in birth records - and newborn outcomes by type of maternal opioid use. Second, among pregnant women with OUD, we used logistic regression to measure disparities in receipt of MOUD by family sociodemographic characteristics including interactions between characteristics. Results: Our cohort from Medicaid-covered deliveries consisted of 314,965 mother-infant dyads, and 4.2 percent were exposed to opioids through maternal use. Among dyads with maternal OUD, MOUD receipt was associated with lower rates of preterm and very preterm birth. Logistic regression adjusted for family sociodemographic characteristics showed that pregnant women with OUD in rural versus urban areas (aOR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.60-0.72) and who were aged ≥35 years versus ≤25 years (aOR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.64-0.89) were less likely to have received MOUD. Families in which the mother's primary language was English (aOR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.24-4.91) and paternity was recorded on the birth certificate (aOR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.19-1.42) were more likely to have received MOUD. Regardless of high school degree attainment, non-Hispanic Black versus non-Hispanic White race was associated with lower likelihood of MOUD receipt. Hispanic race was associated with lower likelihood of MOUD receipt among women without a high school degree. Conclusions: Among a large cohort of pregnant women, we found disparities in receipt of MOUD among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and rural pregnant women. As policymakers consider strategies to improve access to MOUD, they should consider targeted approaches to address these disparities.

Background: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) improve outcomes for pregnant women and infants. Our primary aim was to examine disparities in maternal MOUD receipt by family sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included mother-infant dyads with Medicaid-covered deliveries in Tennessee from 2009 to 2016. First, we examined family sociodemographic characteristics - including race/ethnicity, rurality, mother's primary language and education level, and whether paternity was recorded in birth records - and newborn outcomes by type of maternal opioid use. Second, among pregnant women with OUD, we used logistic regression to measure disparities in receipt of MOUD by family sociodemographic characteristics including interactions between characteristics. Results: Our cohort from Medicaid-covered deliveries consisted of 314,965 mother-infant dyads, and 4.2 percent were exposed to opioids through maternal use. Among dyads with maternal OUD, MOUD receipt was associated with lower rates of preterm and very preterm birth. Logistic regression adjusted for family sociodemographic characteristics showed that pregnant women with OUD in rural versus urban areas (aOR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.60-0.72) and who were aged ≥35 years versus ≤25 years (aOR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.64-0.89) were less likely to have received MOUD. Families in which the mother's primary language was English (aOR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.24-4.91) and paternity was recorded on the birth certificate (aOR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.19-1.42) were more likely to have received MOUD. Regardless of high school degree attainment, non-Hispanic Black versus non-Hispanic White race was associated with lower likelihood of MOUD receipt. Hispanic race was associated with lower likelihood of MOUD receipt among women without a high school degree. Conclusions: Among a large cohort of pregnant women, we found disparities in receipt of MOUD among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and rural pregnant women. As policymakers consider strategies to improve access to MOUD, they should consider targeted approaches to address these disparities.