Exploring Racial Disparities in Addiction Awareness, Education and Treatment with Brenda Zane

ABOUT THE EPISODE:The world of addiction and treatment are not exempt from the racial disparities we're so painfully aware of at the moment (June, 2020). This episode takes a look at what's happening in Black communities in the U.S. relative to:addiction as a percentage of the population vs white and other raceshow the opioid crisis and overdose deaths are impacting the Black communitymisconceptions about opioid prescribing and usebarriers to gold-standard treatment including MATand strategies to address opioid misuse and improve treatment outcomesResearch for this episode was primarily accessed via SAMHSA's website and publications and can be found in the show notes.As a white, privileged woman with access to robust medical insurance, resources and support, this was a difficult podcast to record. I pledge to continue to look for areas where I can do better by highlighting areas for improvement and then working to make change in my own work and in the industry. This episode will give you an initial look at the situation around addiction awareness, prevention and treatment within the Black community. It will be followed by future episodes with guests who can better speak to the day to day realities of a disparate system that prevents POC from accessing the treatment needed to live a life free from addiction.EPISODE RESOURCES:SAMHSA Brief: The Opioid Crisis and the Black/African American Population: An Urgent IssueSAMHSA (2018). Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed TablesArticle: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne ShutackThis podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream CommunityLearn about The Stream, our private online community for momsFind us on Instagram hereWatch the podcast on YouTube hereDownload a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and AlcoholHopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.