Referral and Treatment Settings for Pregnant Women

Referral and Treatment Settings for Pregnant Women Experiencing Drug and Alcohol Addiction by Linda O’Daniel Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Health Services Concentration Public Health Policy Walden University December 2016 Abstract Drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women is a significant public health issue. The purpose of this study was to assess drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women and the setting in which they sought service or treatment to determine whether U.S. census regions and race data could predict the type of addiction service or treatment that pregnant addicts chose. The theories of self-efficacy, cognitive behavioral therapy, andDrug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women is a significant public health issue. The purpose of this study was to assess drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women and the setting in which they sought service or treatment to determine whether U.S. census regions and race data could predict the type of addiction service or treatment that pregnant addicts chose. The theories of self-efficacy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and rational emotive behavioral therapy were used as the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions were used to examine whether there was a relationship between the source of addiction treatment referral and the type of addiction service or treatment setting for pregnant addicts that reside in the United States at the time of their initial admission for treatment. This quantitative study used archival data from the 2012 Treatment Episode Dataset – Admission from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Data analysis included the Chi square (χ) test of independence and a multinomial regression. There was a significant relationship (p < .001) between the source of treatment program referral and type of service/treatment setting for pregnant women who were diagnosed with only an alcohol addiction and both an alcohol and illicit drug addiction. U.S. census region and race did predict the type of addiction service/treatment setting for pregnant addicts diagnosed with an alcohol addiction, as well as those diagnosed with a drug addiction, at the time of treatment admission. Results from this study can be used to address an under researched area of addiction treatment and could aid in changing the behaviors of pregnant addicts, thereby potentially promoting positive social change. Referral and Treatment Settings for Pregnant Women Experiencing Drug and Alcohol Addiction by Linda O’ Daniel Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Health Administration Walden University December 2016 Dedication To my mom, who has struggled with alcohol addiction. She has shown me that addiction is not simply a trend, but a disease that affects the entire family system and which continues to benefit from continued research. Acknowledgments I would like to thank the academic staff at Walden University who have helped me to envision future development of social change by saving a population of pregnant addicts and their exposed developing fetuses. A population of pregnant addicts are part our next generation and could benefit from study results to possibly help end the practice of addiction.