Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
Division of Women's Mental Health, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2020 May;29(5):636-646. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.7519. Epub 2019 Oct 4.
Women face unique issues related to their substance use. Treatment programs that incorporate gender-specific components can to lead to enhanced outcomes for women with substance use disorders (SUDs). Nevertheless, most women receive treatment in mixed-gender SUD treatment programs that lack women-specific components. Programs cite lack of expertise and staff time as barriers to providing gender-specific care. Leveraging technology can address some of the challenges of providing gender-specific care in a mixed-gender setting by offering an accessible, cost-effective alternative to in-person services. We developed a gender-specific, web-based, psychoeducational intervention for women with SUDs as an addition to treatment as usual in a mixed-gender SUD treatment program. Next, we examined the feasibility and acceptability of this single-session intervention in a prepilot study with 30 women with SUDs. Based on these data, we refined the intervention and tested feasibility and acceptability with 60 women with SUDs. Participants indicated a high level of satisfaction with the intervention. Satisfaction did not significantly differ by level of care (inpatient, partial hospitalization, or outpatient) or age, and was not associated with the number of previous treatment episodes. Participants highlighted the importance of addressing co-occurring disorders, trauma, and sexual abuse in SUD treatment for women. Women in this study found this web-based gender-specific intervention relevant regardless of their previous experience in treatment. Delivery of this intervention is feasible and has the potential to be a highly sustainable strategy for increasing exposure to gender-specific SUD components of care.
女性在物质使用方面面临着独特的问题。将性别特定成分纳入治疗计划可以为患有物质使用障碍（SUD）的女性带来更好的结果。然而，大多数女性在混合性别 SUD 治疗计划中接受治疗，这些计划缺乏针对女性的特定成分。这些计划提到缺乏专业知识和员工时间是提供性别特定护理的障碍。利用技术可以通过提供一种经济实惠的、可访问的替代方案，解决在混合性别环境中提供性别特定护理的一些挑战。我们为患有 SUD 的女性开发了一种特定于性别的基于网络的心理教育干预措施，作为混合性别 SUD 治疗计划中常规治疗的补充。接下来，我们在一项预试点研究中，对 30 名患有 SUD 的女性进行了该单一疗程干预的可行性和可接受性研究。基于这些数据，我们对干预措施进行了改进，并对 60 名患有 SUD 的女性进行了可行性和可接受性测试。参与者对干预措施表示高度满意。满意度与护理水平（住院、部分住院或门诊）或年龄没有显著差异，也与以前的治疗次数无关。参与者强调了在 SUD 治疗中同时解决共病、创伤和性虐待的重要性。无论她们以前的治疗经验如何，参与这项研究的女性都认为这个基于网络的特定于性别的干预措施是相关的。提供这种干预措施是可行的，并且有可能成为增加女性特定 SUD 护理成分暴露的高度可持续策略。
