New Treatment Guidance for Pregnant Mothers with Opioid Use Disorder
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released new Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants. SAMHSA’s Clinical Guidance comes at a time of great need for effective opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. In 2016, over 20,000 pregnant women reported using heroin or misusing pain relievers in the past month. Newborn babies of mothers who used opioids while pregnant are at risk of neonatal abstinence syndrome–a group of physical and neurobehavioral signs of withdrawal. The guidance, which consists of 16 fact sheets on prenatal, infant, and maternal postnatal care,…
SAMHSA Announces a $30,000 Opioid Recovery App Challenge
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is announcing a new challenge to help to spur developers to create a mobile application (app) that provides additional recovery support to patients receiving treatment for opioid misuse. The app may be used as part of a patient’s comprehensive treatment plan that includes counseling and participation in social support programs. The goal of this challenge is to increase access to resources, educational materials, information and support for people in outpatient recovery from opioid misuse. Click here for more information
SAMHSA Defends Keeping Drinking Age at 21
An opinion piece in the NY Times argued for the US to “Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It” SAMHA’s Pamela S. Hyde responded with the reasons why “maintaining the current minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 is critical to the health and safety of our nation’s individuals, families, and communities: Studies have found that people who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence during their lifetime than are people who begin drinking at age 21. Research has also shown a clear link between age 21 MLDA laws and a…
Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA Strategic initiatives help people with mental and substance use disorders, support the families of people with mental and substance use disorders, build strong and supportive communities, prevent costly behavioral health problems, and promote better health for all Americans. The site provides information on health reform, tools, research, data, and community support related to issues of mental health and substance abuse.
6 Coalitions Awarded DFC Grant to Address Youth Substance Use
White House Drug Policy Office announced Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grants, to communities across the country. The grants will provide local communities funding to prevent youth substance use and support the Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy, which treats our Nation’s drug problem through a balanced public health and safety approach. The DFC Program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions that facilitate youth and adult participation at the community level in local youth drug use prevention efforts. Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business…
SAMHSA Awards Grant to NC Central to Address Alcohol, Drug Abuse, HIV
N.C. Central University plans to use a three-year grant to develop techniques for reducing rates of alcohol and drug abuse and HIV transmission among 18 to 24 year olds. The grant totals nearly $898,000. The initiative known as the Campus Community Coalition taps the expertise of five academic departments within NCCU and two outside agencies. An initial phase of the project started earlier this year and involved on-campus surveys to explore prevailing habits and attitudes regarding sex and drug and alcohol use among young adults. A…
SAMHSA releases Behavioral Health, U.S., 2012 report
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) just released a report entitled Behavioral Health, United States, 2012 — the latest in a series of publications (formerly known as Mental Health, United States) issued biennially by SAMHSA since 1980. This report features mental health and substance abuse statistics at the national and state levels from 40 different data sources. The report includes three key chapters: Behavioral Health Disorders across the Life Span Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Impairment in Functioning Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Treatment Landscape Click on image to read the full report
Stimulant-related emergency department visits rise 300 percent among younger adults
A new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that some drug- related emergency department visits increased by 300 percent — from 5,605 visits in 2005 to 22,949 visits in 2011. These visits, made by adults aged 18 to 34, were related to the nonmedical use of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants. On average, about 30 percent of these visits also involved alcohol. CNS stimulants featured in this report include prescription drugs, such as those used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; other prescription medications, such as benzphetamine and modafinil; and over-the- counter products containing stimulants. Illicit stimulants,…
Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women in Substance Abuse Treatment Drops
According to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) the percentage of pregnant woman in substance abuse treatment using alcohol (with or without drug use) dropped from 46.6% to 34.8% over a ten year period. However, the report also shows that the percentage of substance abuse admissions involving pregnant women using drugs (without co-occurring alcohol use) rose from 51.1% to 63.8% during this same period. Click here to continue reading
Building Public Awareness and Community Support
SAMHSA offers webcast focused on examining the strategies and messages for building public awareness and community support around substance use disorders and mental illness, including the impact of health reform and the integration of behavioral health care into the primary health care setting. Check it out…