Nearly 50% of Americans will meet the diagnostic criteria of some form of mental illness in their lifetime (Mehta & Edwards, 2018). However, only 40% of these individuals will seek treatment for them. Patients with mental illness have a lifespan that is, on average, 25 years shorter than individuals without mental illness and are at 2-3 times the risk of diabetes, heart, and lung disease than the average population but do not receive adequate treatment at a proportionate rate. As a country, there are very negative stereotypes held towards individuals struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders even though they are among the most common conditions in the population. This stigma against mental illness often prevents individuals from seeking care for their symptoms and causes medical providers to treat patients with mental illness differently than those without them. Stigma can be seen in the way providers speak about patients with mental illness, the way the medical record labels patients with mental illness, and even how health care providers themselves fail to seek treatment when suffering from mental illness themselves. This thesis examines the types of stigmas that exist, describes how it interferes with clinical care and causes adverse clinical outcomes for patients with mental illness and substance use disorders and provides recommendations for improving the treatment of individuals with mental illness and the importance of normalizing talking about mental illness. / Urban Bioethics

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared the misuse of opioid prescription drugs as a public health emergency. The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion expanded the number of people with insurance and increased the demand for services related to substance abuse treatment. In the first part of this study, the researcher examines whether the Medicaid expansion reduced the likelihood of treatment delay. The second part of this study explores whether the length of stay for opioid use disorder treatment is significantly different in states that adopted Medicaid expansion versus states that did not. In both studies, the researcher analyzes administrative data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to discover any treatment delays associated with the opioid treatments for the states that adopted the expansion versus the states that did not, and to determine whether there was a difference in the length of stay in the states that adopted the Medicaid versus the states that did not. A difference-in-difference approach is used in both studies to compare the states which adopted an optional Medicaid expansion to those non-adoption states. The evidence suggests that demand for opioid treatment services increased in expansion states as there is a decreased probability of obtaining treatment on the first day for initial requests for outpatient treatment. In addition, evidence suggests that Medicaid expansion increased the likelihood of staying longer in outpatient facilities, but not inpatient facilities. / Business Administration/Risk Management and Insurance

The goal of this thesis is to explore the mechanisms underlying the association between women's experiences of child sexual abuse (CSA) and substance use in adulthood. Specifically, I evaluated the role of CSA, adult sexual victimization (ASA), and psychological distress including symptoms of depression, perceived stress, and PTSD on substance use. Research has shown that individuals who experience CSA are more likely to experience ASA, which results in psychological distress. Individuals may engage in substance use to cope with psychological distress from CSA and ASA, consistent with the self-medication hypothesis. Women (N = 225) were recruited from Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and completed an online survey. Results indicate positive correlations between CSA, ASA, psychological distress, problem drinking, and drug use. Further, there was an indirect effect of CSA on substance use through ASA, but not psychological distress. Results highlight the importance of trauma informed care for women's psychological distress and problem substance use.

Bakgrund: Substansbrukssyndrom är en sjukdom som påverkar flera miljoner individer i världen idag, varav sjuksköterskor är en särskilt utsatt grupp. Detta bland annat på grund av tillgängligheten till narkotika på arbetsplatserna. Trots detta råder det stor kunskapsbrist kring ämnet. Det medför att omvårdnadsarbetet kan påverkas negativt, och patienter, kollegor och den missbrukande sjuksköterskan själv kan utsättas för risker. Syfte: Att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelse av personligt substansmissbruk och missbruksrehabilitering. Metod: Litteraturstudien baserades på åtta kvalitativa studier inhämtade genom databassökningar i CINAHL och PubMed. Analyserades med Fribergs femstegsmodell.Resultat: Fyra huvudkategorier framkom ur analysen: ”Orsaker till missbruket”, “missbrukets konsekvenser”, “Att konfrontera missbruket” samt “rehabilitering”. Huvudkategorierna delades upp i 8 underkategorier. Konklusion: Missbruk leder till sociala och ekonomiska konsekvenser för sjuksköterskan samt kan negativt påverka kvaliteten på patientens vård. Det finns effektiva interventioner men upplevelsen av dessa varierar och är beroende av flera faktorer. Det finns ett kunskapsgap och det behövs mer forskning kring frågan. / Background: Substance use disorder is a disease that afflicts millions of individuals worldwide today, of which nurses are vulnerable as a group because of the easy access to narcotics amongst other reasons. Despite this, there is a great lack of knowledge about the subject. This affects the nursing care negatively, and patients, colleagues and the substance abusing nurse themselves can be put at risk. Aim: To describe the nurses’ experience of personal substance abuse and rehabilitation. Methods: This literature study is based on eight qualitative studies acquired through database-searches in CINAHL and PubMed, the analysis was conducted using Friberg`s five step model. Results: Four main categories were found through the analysis: “Causes for substance abuse”, “consequences of substance abuse”, “Confronting the substance abuse” and “rehabilitation”. The main categories were divided into 8 subcategories. Conclusion: Substance abuse leads to social and economic consequences for the nurse and can negatively affect the quality of the patient's care. There are effective interventions but the experiences of these vary and are dependent on multiple variables. There is a lack of research on the subject, and more is needed.

Introduktion: Substansmissbruk är ett stort folkhälsoproblem samt en global humanitär kris. Personer med substansmissbruk är en sårbar patientgrupp då de lider av både fysisk och psykisk samsjuklighet vilket leder till behov av både somatisk och psykiatrisk och vård.  Substansbrukssyndromet bidrar till att vårdpersonal inom sjukvården upplever denna patientgrupp som komplex och svårbehandlad.  Syfte: Syftet var att studera vilka erfarenheter personer med substansmissbruk hade av bemötandet i somatisk vård. Metodbeskrivning: En litteraturstudie med deskriptiv design och kvalitativ ansats, där 13 original studier inkluderades i tematisk analys. Resultat: Resultatet visade på att personer med substansmissbruk upplevde brister i bemötande inom vården. Dessa upplevelser beskrevs som stigmatisering, fördomar samt bristande vård. Resultatet visade även att personer med substansmissbruk uppskattar ett professionellt bemötande där vårdpersonal var engagerad, empatisk, tog sig tid att lyssna samt var icke-dömande.Slutsats: Bemötande är en viktig del av omvårdnad då upplevelser av bemötande påverkar patientens vårdupplevelse samt hur de hanterar sin ohälsa. Genom en bättre förståelse för denna patientgrupps upplevelser av bemötande samt hur bemötandet brister kan förutsättningar skapas för att personer med substansmissbruk ska erhålla en god, trygg och jämnlikvård. / Introduction: Substance abuse is a significant public health problem and global humanitarian crisis. People who suffer from substance use disorder are a vulnerable patient group as they suffer from both physical and mental co-morbidities that lead them to seek somatic and psychiatric care. Substance use disorder contributes to health professionals perceiving this patient group as complex and challenging. Purpose: The purpose was to study what experiences people with substance abuse had of interactions and treatment in somatic care. Method description: A literature review with a descriptive design including 13 qualitative studies in the thematic analysis. Results: The results showed that people with substance use disorder had negative treatment and interactions experiences in health care. The result describes experiences of stigmatization, prejudice, and neglect. The results also showed that people with substance use disorder appreciate a professional approach where the healthcare staff is committed, empathetic, takes the time to listen and is non-judgmental.Conclusion: Interaction is essential to nursing, as perceptions of interaction affect the patient's care experience and how they deal with their illness. A better understanding of this patient group's experiences in treatment and how it is lacking creates an environment for healthcare professionals to provide good, safe, and equal care; healthcare professionals must know the specific needs of this patient group.

There is an established bidirectional relation between substance use and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Despite the high rate of prescribing opioids for pain management following a TBI and the epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States, scarce research has specifically analyzed the association between TBI and OUD. In a series of three interrelated manuscripts, the present study will first examine the prevalence and features of TBIs among persons seeking treatment for OUD. Next, the present study will evaluate the association between TBI and indicators of risky health behaviors and OUD severity, including the risk of overdose and polysubstance use. The predictive ability of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, impulsivity, depression, and chronic pain on odds of having had a TBI will also be calculated. Last, a systematic review will be conducted to provide comprehensive guidelines for effective methods of tailoring OUD treatment to mitigate the effects of TBI on treatment outcomes. Altogether, the findings will aid in the understanding of the development of TBI for persons with OUD, provide insight into common clinical complexities for patients with OUD and TBI, and offer guidance on how best to tailor interventions to increase substance use treatment efficacy for persons with TBI.

Bakgrund Patienter med substansbrukssyndrom har ofta behov av sjukhusvård på grund av trauma, psykisk problematik eller fysiska skador som uppkommit på grund av substansbruk. Sjukdomen skapar ett sjukdomslidande för patienten som är svår att ta sig ut. Utöver sjukdom upplever patienterna sig ofta stigmatiserade både från samhället, sig själva samt vårdare vilket bidrar till livslidande såväl som vårdlidande. Sjuksköterskan har ett ansvar att vårda sina patienter personcentrerat med respekt. Syfte  Syftet är att beskriva mötet mellan patienten med substansbrukssyndrom och hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal. Metod Studien byggs på en icke-systematisk litteraturstudie baserad på 16 vetenskapliga originalartiklar. Inkluderade artiklar är av kvalitativ design. Datat är insamlad under hösten 2021 från databaserna PubMed och CINAHL, sökningarna genomfördes med booleska sökkombinationer. Alla inkluderade artiklar är kvalitetsgranskade utifrån Sophiahemmets Högskolas bedömningsinstrument. En integrerad dataanalys står till grund för teman i studiens resultat. Resultat Patienter såväl som sjuksköterskor uppvisar beteende och attityder påverkade av stigma. Den stigmatiserade patienter upplever förminskande samt diskrimination i mötet med hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal vilket gör patientgruppen mindre benägen att söka vård. Hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal som stigmatiserar patienten har svårt att vårda patienten utifrån ett personcentrerat synsätt och upplever svårigheter att se hela patienten i mötet. Hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal med specialistkompetens inom området visar att mer kunskap är av hjälp i mötet med patienter, samt att kunskap leder till avstigmatisering. Mötet med specialister leder till trygghet för patienten som i sin tur vågar vara sig själv. Slutsats Mer kunskap om substansbrukssyndrom behövs hos grundutbildad hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal för att kunna möta patienten utifrån ett personcentrerat synsätt, fritt från stigma. / Background Patients suffering from substance use disorders tend to hold a high frequency of hospitalizations, due to trauma, psychiatric instability or physical damage associated with substance use. The patient often experiences stigmatization, from the community, nurses and other ward personne. The nurse holds responsibility to treat their patients with respect as well as exercise a person-centered ward to ensure the best possible care for their patients.  Aim The aim is to describe the encounter of patients suffering from substance use disorder and healthcare personnel.  Method The study was implemented with a non-systematic literature study, based on 15 scientific articles. The included articles are based on qualitative design. The data was collected during the autumn of 2021 from the databases PubMed and CINAHL, the search was made with boolean search combinations. The included articles have been quality reviewed according to the Sophiahemmet assessment instrument. Data Analysis was made with an integrated data analysis, which contributed to the themes presented in the result of the study. Results Patients as well as nurses exhibit behaviour and attitudes affected by stigma. The stigmatized patient experiences diminishing behaviour together with dicrimination when they meet healht-care providers, which makes them less prone to approach hospital care. Health-care providers, who stigmatize patients, experience difficulties in the exercise ward of a patient centered point of view. Professions with specialist competens, within substance use disorders, shows that more knowledge leads to destigmatizing. Conclusions Better knowledge about substance use disorders is needed within healthcare-providers to be able to provide care out of a person centered point of view, free from stigma, in the meet with patients suffering from substance use disorder.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of and factors associated with tobacco use among patients living with HIV/HCV co-infection. Patient reported outcomes (PROs) were analyzed of patients living with HIV/HCV co-infection (n = 313) who presented for clinical evaluation and treatment of HCV between 2013 and 2017 at a university-affiliated HIV/HCV Co-infection Clinic. The prevalence of tobacco use in patients living with HIV/HCV co-infection was 48%. Compared to non-smokers, a higher proportion of tobacco smokers had substance use disorders and concurrent alcohol and substance use. In the multivariate analysis, concurrent alcohol and substance use was positively associated with tobacco use. The findings suggest clinical interventions are urgently needed to reduce tobacco use among patients living with HIV/HCV co-infection—a doubly-vulnerable immunocompromised population. Otherwise, failed efforts to dedicate resources and targeted behavioral interventions for this respective population will inhibit survival—especially considering the recent and evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Current national prevalence estimates of DSM-5 diagnosed substance use disorders (SUDs) among adults with justice system involvement are lacking. Methods: This study drew from NESARC-III data (n = 36,309; 2012–2013), a nationally representative U.S. sample, to examine current and lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorder (DUD) diagnoses among adults reporting current or prior drug-related, alcohol-related, and general legal problems. Results: Adults reporting current alcohol-related legal problems were 22 times more likely to have a current AUD diagnosis (AOR = 22.0, 95% CI = 12.1; 40.1) and 15 times more likely to have had a lifetime AUD diagnosis (AOR = 15.2, 95% CI = 7.5; 30.9) than adults without alcohol-related legal problems. Adults with lifetime drug-related legal problems were 3–5 times more likely to have a current (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI = 2.1; 3.2) and lifetime (AOR = 5.1, 95% CI = 4.3; 6.1) DUD diagnosis, with stimulant use disorder being the most prevalent (AOR = 5.4, 95% CI = 4.5; 6.5). Adults with general legal problems were around 3 times more likely to have a current AUD (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI = 2.6; 4.0) or DUD (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI = 2.8; 4.4). Women with any type of legal problem were more likely to have SUD diagnoses than men. Conclusions: SUD diagnoses are prevalent among adults reporting legal problems, particularly those involving alcohol. There is a continued need for community-based addiction prevention and intervention efforts, especially for women with justice system involvement.

SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund Smärta är en individuell och subjektiv upplevelse och den vanligaste orsaken till att människor uppsöker sjukvården. Att leva med långvarig smärta påverkar människans livskvalitet. Missbruk av beroendeframkallande läkemedel ökar och är idag ett globalt folkhälsoproblem. Det är sjuksköterskans professionella ansvar att bedöma, behandla och lindra smärta. Syfte Syftet var att belysa sjuksköterskans och patientens upplevelse och erfarenhet vid smärta och läkemedelsberoende inom sjukvården. Metod En icke systematisk litteraturöversikt genomfördes och baserades på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar av kvalitativ och kvantitativ design. Artiklarna eftersöktes med hjälp av relevanta sökord i databaserna PubMed och CINAHL samt manuellt för att därefter kvalitetsgranskas utifrån Sophiahemmet Högskolas bedömningsunderlag för vetenskaplig klassificering. Vidare analyserades artiklarna med hjälp av en integrerad analysmetod, vilken resulterade i en sammanställning med två huvudkategorier och sex subkategorier. Resultat Resultatet utgjordes av två huvudkategorier och sex subkategorier. En huvudkategori var sjuksköterskans perspektiv, den andra var patientens perspektiv. De sex subkategorierna var: attityd och förhållningsätt, kunskapsbrist, etiskt dilemma, mötet med sjukvården, att bli tagen på allvar samt partnerskap. Resultatet visade att sjuksköterskor och patienter hade såväl positiva som negativa upplevelser och erfarenheter relaterat till vården av patienter med smärta och läkemedelsberoende. Slutsats Sjuksköterskans bristande kunskap kring begreppet smärta samt sjuksköterskans attityder och förhållningssätt gentemot läkemedelsberoende patienter med smärta, utgör hinder för en god och säker omvårdnad. Mer forskning och utbildning behövs för att inte riskera ett onödigt lidande för denna patientgrupp. / ABSTRACT Background Pain is an individual and subjective experience and the most common cause of people seeking healthcare. Living with chronic pain influences a person’s quality of life. The abuse of dependency developing drugs is increasing and is now a global health problem. It is the nurse’s professional responsibility to appraise, treat and relieve pain. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the patient’s and nurse’s experiences, within the healthcare system, connected to pain and substance use disorder. Method The method was a literature review based on 15 scientific articles and both qualitative and quantitative design where included. Data collection was made in a non-structured and a manual way, in the databases PubMed and CINAHL. Quality assessment was made according to the assessment basis by Sophiahemmet University, which is directed at assessing the quality and scientifically classifying studies. Furthermore, the articles were analysed using an integrated analytical method, resulting in a compilation of two main categories and six subcategories. Results The results were compiled within two main categories and six subcategories. One of the main categories was the nurse’s perspective with the subcategories attitude and approach, lack of knowledge, ethical dilemma. The second main category was the patient’s perspective, with the subcategories the meeting with healthcare, to be taken seriously and partnership. The results showed that nurses and patients both had positive and negative experiences and knowledge related to the healthcare of patients with pain and substance use. Conclusions Nurse’s lack of knowledge about the concept of pain as well as attitudes to, and approach toward patients with substance abuse and in pain, is an obstacle to develop good and safe care. Extended research and education are needed to lower the risk of unnecessary suffering for this group of patients.