6/3/2021 Grand Rounds

The Boston University Psychiatry Evaluation of Minority Addiction Treatment (BUPE-MAT Study): A Qualitative Analysis on Barriers to Opioid Agonist Treatment for Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Speakers:

Devin Cromartie, MD, MPH

PGY-4 Psychiatry Resident, Boston Medical Center and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Jawad Husain, MD

PGY-4 Psychiatry Resident, Boston Medical Center and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Since 1999, the public health burden of opioid use disorder (OUD) has surpassed half a million deaths. The opioid overdose mortality rate is rising fastest in the non-Hispanic black population compared to other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Clinical guidelines strongly recommend opioid agonist treatment (OAT) as a first-line treatment for OUD. However, racial/ethnic minorities are less likely to receive OAT compared to non-Hispanic white individuals. This qualitative study seeks to evaluate perceptions and barriers to opioid agonist treatment across racial/ethnic groups at the individual, interpersonal, community, and societal levels.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe the recent rising trend of overdose deaths in the Black community and racial/ethnic disparities in opioid agonist treatment.
  2. Evaluate perceptions and barriers to opioid agonist treatment across racial/ethnic groups at the individual, interpersonal, community, and societal levels.
  3. Propose interventions to better engage racial/ethnic minority populations in treatment for opioid use disorder