ORN Spring 2025 - Barriers to Substance Use Treatment Among People Who Use Drugs in the Rural United States: A Qualitative, Multi-Site Study-2025-04-23 - RECORDING - ORN Spring 2025 Barriers to Substance Use

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The AOAAM webinar highlighted barriers to substance use treatment among rural populations with a focus on people with disabilities. Dr. Stotka shared insights based on a multi-site qualitative study exploring such challenges in the rural U.S. and emphasized the importance of nuanced approaches and frameworks like the social ecological model. This model was used to analyze barriers at various levels: individual, organizational, community, and policy. Key findings included issues such as limited treatment availability, long travel distances, and stigma, especially within close-knit communities.<br /><br />Dr. Stotka underscored the importance of enhancing treatment accessibility through transportation support and exploring alternative treatment locations like pharmacies, as well as reconsidering policy-level factors that limit access. The webinar pointed out the exacerbation of such barriers in rural settings due to factors like geographical remoteness and stricter treatment rules. The speaker also identified a need for tailored interventions and expressed hope for developing more effective treatment delivery systems through collaboration with law enforcement and community entities.<br /><br />In the discussion, there was significant participant engagement around topics like engaging law enforcement, addressing stigma, and handling funding concerns. The importance of building relationships and understanding within communities was flagged as crucial to overcoming barriers in addiction treatment. The webinar concluded with recommendations for future research focusing on minority and indigenous populations in rural areas to further understand unique barriers and improve treatment accessibility.

Keywords

substance use treatment

rural populations

people with disabilities

social ecological model

treatment accessibility

stigma

transportation support

policy-level factors

community collaboration

minority and indigenous populations