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BackgroundThe United States continues to experience an alarming rise in opioid use that includes women who become pregnant and related neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in newborns. Most newborns experiencing NAS require nonpharmacological care, which entails, most importantly, maternal involvement with the newborn. To facilitate positive maternal-newborn interactions, mothers need to learn effective caregiving NAS strategies when they are pregnant; however, an enormous gap exists in the early education of mothers on the symptoms and progression of NAS, partly because no education, training, or other interventions exist to prepare future mothers for the challenges of caring for their newborns at risk for NAS. ObjectiveIn this paper, we describe a mixed methods, multistage study to adapt an existing mobile NAS tool for high-risk pregnant women and assess its usability, acceptability, and feasibility in a small randomized controlled trial. MethodsStage 1 will include 20 semistructured interviews with a panel of neonatology experts, NAS care providers, and mothers with experience caring for NAS-affected newborns to gather their recommendations on the management of NAS and explore their perspectives on the care of these newborns. The findings will guide the adaptation of existing mobile NAS tools for high-risk pregnant women. In stage 2, we will test the usability, acceptability, and feasibility of the adapted mobile tool via surveys with 10 pregnant women receiving opioid agonist therapy (OAT). Finally, in stage 3, we will randomize 30 high-risk pregnant women receiving OAT to either receive the adapted mobile NAS caregiving tool or usual care. We will compare these women on primary outcomes—maternal drug relapse and OAT continuation—and secondary outcomes—maternal-newborn bonding; length of newborn hospital stays; readmission rates; breastfeeding initiation and duration; and postpartum depression and anxiety at 4, 8, and 12 weeks postpartum. ResultsThis project was funded in July 2020 and approved by the institutional review board in April 2020. Data collection for stage 1 began in December 2020, and as of January 2021, we completed 18 semistructured interviews (10 with NAS providers and 8 with perinatal women receiving OAT). Common themes from all interviews will be analyzed in spring 2021 to inform the adaptation of the NAS caregiving tool. The results from stage 1 are expected to be published in summer 2021. Stage 2 data collection will commence in fall 2021. ConclusionsThe findings of this study have the potential to improve NAS care and maternal-newborn outcomes and lead to commercialized product development. If effective, our new tool will be well suited to tailoring for other high-risk perinatal women with substance use disorders. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04783558; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04783558 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/27382

BACKGROUND:There are sex differences in buprenorphine/naloxone clinical trials for opioid use. While women have fewer opioid-positive urine samples, relative to men, a significant decrease in opioid-positive samples was found during treatment for men, but not women. In order to inform sex-based approaches to improve treatment outcomes, research is needed to determine if opioid use, and predictors of opioid use, differs between men and women during treatment. OBJECTIVES:To test for sex differences in opioid use during a buprenorphine/naloxone clinical trial and determine if sex differences exist in the associations between addiction-related problem areas and opioid use over the course of the trial. METHOD:This secondary data analysis of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) 0003 examined sex differences (men = 347, women = 169) in opioid-positive samples in a randomized clinical trial comparing 7-day vs. 28-day buprenorphine/naloxone tapering strategies. Addiction-related problem areas were defined by Addiction Severity-Lite (ASI-L) domain composite scores. RESULTS:Women were more likely than men to use opioids during the course of the buprenorphine/naloxone clinical trial (B = .33, p = .01) and medical issues were positively related to submitting an opioid-positive sample during treatment for women (B = 1.67, p = .01). No ASI-L domain composite score was associated with opioid-positive samples during treatment for men. CONCLUSION:Women were more likely than men to use opioids during the course of the buprenorphine/naloxone clinical trial, and medical issues predicted opioid use during treatment for women but not men. Complementary treatment for medical problems during opioid replacement therapy may benefit women.

Aim: To determine the association between nurse and institutional characteristics and perceived professional nurse knowledge and self‐efficacy of reporting child abuse and neglect. Design: A sample of N = 166 nurses were recruited to respond to the Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (RSCAN) survey. Methods: A multiple linear regression examined whether nurse characteristics and institutional characteristics were associated with the two RSCAN survey domain scores. Results: Perceived knowledge of a workplace child abuse and neglect protocol was associated with the knowledge subscale. Education and child abuse and neglect expertise were significant predictors of the self‐efficacy subscale. Nurses with a master's or higher degree and those who identified as being either forensic, paediatric or Emergency Department nurses, had less perceived institutional barriers to self‐efficacy of reporting child abuse and neglect. Conclusion: This study provides a preliminary insight into the institutional barriers and facilitators of nurses as child abuse and neglect mandated reporters. Implications for the profession and/or patient care: To encourage innovative education and collaborations to support nurses as fully informed child abuse and neglect mandated reporters. Impact: This research identifies the gaps and facilitators of nurses as child abuse and neglect mandated reporters to inform healthcare professionals and academic institutions on the importance of nurse education and experience in nurse knowledge and self‐efficacy in reporting suspected child abuse and neglect. Reporting methods: The authors of this study have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines: STROBE. Patient or public contribution: There is no patient or public contribution as the study only looked at nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arsenic and cadmium are known cardiovascular toxicants that pose disproportionate risk to rural communities where environmental exposures are high. American Indians have high vascular risk, which may be attributable in part to these exposures. Objective: We examined urine metal concentrations in association with magnetic resonance imaging findings of vascular brain injury or cerebral atrophy in adult American Indians. Methods: We measured arsenic and cadmium in American Indian participants from the Strong Heart Study (1989-1991) and evaluated these associations with later (2010-2013) measures of infarct, hemorrhage, white matter hyperintensity (WMH) grade, brain and hippocampal volume, and sulcal and ventricle atrophy using nested multivariate regression analyses. Results: Among participants with available data (N = 687), the median urine arsenic:creatinine ratio was 7.54 [micro]g/g [interquartile range (IQR): 4.90-11.93] and the cadmium:creatinine ratio was 0.96 [micro]g/g (IQR: 0.61-1.51). Median time between metal measurement and brain imaging was 21 y (range: 18-25 y). Statistical models detected significant associations between arsenic and higher burden of WMH [grade increase = 0.014 (95% CI: 0.000, 0.028) per 10% increase in arsenic]; and between cadmium and presence of lacunar infarcts [relative risk (RR) = 1.024 (95% CI: 1.004, 1.045) per 10% increase in cadmium]. Discussion: This population-based cohort of American Indian elders had measured values of urine arsenic and cadmium several times higher than previous population- and clinic-based studies in the United States and Mexico, and comparable values with European industrial workers. Our findings of associations for arsenic and cadmium exposures with vascular brain injury are consistent with established literature. Environmental toxicant accumulation is modifiable; public health policy may benefit from focusing on reductions in environmental metals. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6930, Introduction Arsenic and cadmium are known environmental toxicants. Geographical regions characterized by subsistence or rural economies may have some of the most heavily arsenic- and cadmium-contaminated soil or groundwater, where [...]

Objective: To confirm the factor structure of the Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool (CHANT) tool via confirmatory factor analysis. Design and sample: This is a cross‐sectional analysis of voluntary, anonymous responses collected online in 2019, from a non‐representative sample of 489 nurses from 12 nations with 95% of the respondents from the United States. Measurements: A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test a five‐factor measurement model of the 22‐item CHANT. Reliability was examined via Cronbach's α coefficient. Results: The five CHANT subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.67 to 0.91. The five‐factor model of CHANT demonstrated good fit, x2(199) = 582.747, p <.001, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.06, and SRMR = 0.04 with statistically significant item‐factor loadings. Conclusion: CHANT is a reliable and robust instrument to measure nurses' awareness, concern, motivation, and home and work behaviors regarding climate change and health, and is ready to be utilized in research, policy, professional settings, and among educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the prevalence of substance use as a coping mechanism and identified relationships between maternal mental health over time and use of substances to cope during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among pregnant women in the U.S.A. Self-reported repeated measures from 83 pregnant women were collected online in April 2020 and May 2020. Women retrospectively reported their mental/emotional health before the pandemic, as well as depression, stress, and substance use as a result of the pandemic at both time points. Linear regression measured cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between mental health and substance use. Pre-COVID-19 reports of poorer mental/emotional health (b = 0.46) were significantly (p <.05) associated with number of substances used to cope with the pandemic. Elevated stress (b = 0.35) and depressive symptoms (b = 0.27) and poorer mental/emotional health (b = 0.14) in April were also significantly related to higher numbers of substances used in May (p <.05). Pregnant women's psychological well-being may be a readily measured indicator substance use risk during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions addressing increased stress and depression may also mitigate the emergence of greater substance use among pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While national guidelines state that cannabis should not be consumed during pregnancy, cannabis use during pregnancy continues to increase. Pregnant individuals have reported using healthcare professionals and budtenders (i.e., cannabis store retailers) as resources for information on cannabis use during pregnancy and postpartum. Objectives: To determine healthcare professionals' and budtenders' perceptions of risks and benefits of perinatal cannabis use. Method: A qualitative study, using semi-structured, open-ended questions, was conducted with ten healthcare professionals (predominantly nurses; 100% women) and ten budtenders (70% women) in a state where cannabis use is legal for adults 21 years of age and older. Data were interpreted using a qualitative description methodology to identify themes. Themes were generated from participant responses (implicit and explicit). We analyzed data separately and sequentially and present linked themes across samples. Data saturation, rigor, and trustworthiness were discussed and agreed upon by the analytic team. Results: Six themes arose from the healthcare professional and budtender data: 1) Perinatal customers and patients perceive cannabis to be medicinal, 2) Supporting perinatal people who use cannabis, 3) Spectrum of perceived impacts of perinatal cannabis use, 4) Comparison to use of other substances during pregnancy, 5) Perceived limited knowledge and training about cannabis regulation and product safety, and 6) Current trends of purchase and use. Conclusion: Participants reported that perinatal patients/customers perceived cannabis to be medicinal, and highlighted non-judgmental/harm reduction strategies for engaging patients/customers. Training is needed for healthcare professionals and budtenders to assist with patient/customer discussions about perinatal cannabis use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]