The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #45733

Ann M Dozier, RN, PhD¹, Patricia Perry, PhD², Dawn Lambert-Wacey, MA³, and Melissa Wyman Paquin, PhD². (1) Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, Box 324, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, 585-273-2592, ann_dozier@urmc.rochester.edu, (2) Services Research, NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, 1450 Western Ave, Albany, NY 12203, (3) NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services/Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, 1450 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12203

Birth certificate data on drug and alcohol use is usually based on prenatal provider documentation and is often underreported. Numerous factors contribute to inadequate prenatal identification of substance misuse including health providers’ perceptions about substance users. To better describe the population of pregnant women abusing alcohol and/or drugs, de-identified data from the Monroe County perinatal database and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services database were linked. Initial analysis of live births in calendar 2000 (n=11,086) yielded 729 women reported as using at least one substance. Of these, 71 were located in the treatment database (group 1). Of the 10,342 reported not to be using a substance while pregnant, 21 were located in the treatment database (group 2).Women in group 1 were more likely than women in group 2 to be in inpatient treatment with alcohol or cocaine as the primary drug of abuse, to be unemployed, and to be African American. By comparison, women in group 2 were more likely to be 1) in outpatient treatment with marijuana as the primary drug of abuse, 2) referred from criminal justice, 3) reported as having no use in the last month, 4) reported as having no other children, and 5) in their first addiction treatment episode. Subsequent analysis will present three years of data.Better understanding of the prevalence of substance abuse among childbearing women will inform screening criteria to support identification and referral at the time of pregnancy and during the interconceptual period.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss issues with identification of women using/abusing substances during pregnancy
• Describe characteristics of pregnant women in treatment
• Compare findings between those women in treatment for substance abuse who were and were not identified prenatally

Keywords: Prenatal Interventions, Substance Abuse Assessment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.