Improving Linkages Between Sexual and Reproductive Health and Substance Use Providers: The Partnership to Advance...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Integration
• Substance Use Disorders

Background:

• Women of reproductive age with substance use disorders face challenges in contraceptive use and unintended pregnancies.
• Integration of substance use (SU) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, using the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model, can reduce SU and improve health equity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if a quality improvement (QI) learning collaborative model could support SU and SRH sites in implementing an SBIRT/SBIRT-like model.
• To improve health outcomes for women by integrating SU and SRH services.

Main Methods:

• A 18-month QI learning collaborative, the Partnership to Advance Integrated Referrals (PAIR), involved 5 SRH and 4 SU sites in New York State.
• Mixed-methods data collection tools gathered process and outcome data from over 130 QI team members/staff and over 5000 clients.

Main Results:

• QI teams reported reduced bias, increased knowledge, comfort, and improved organizational practices.
• SU sites increased SRH screening (47.9% to 67.4%) and brief interventions (92.5% to 100%).
• SRH sites increased SU screening (51.6% to 75.6%) and brief interventions (81.3% to 85.1%), though referral completion remained a challenge.

Conclusions:

• The PAIR study demonstrated the feasibility of implementing SBIRT/SBIRT-like models in SU and SRH settings with QI collaborative support.
• Community and organizational challenges, such as COVID-19 and staff turnover, continue to pose barriers to improving reproductive health and SU outcomes for women.