Faculty Bibliography

The Half-Century long problem of addiction treatment disparities. We cannot imagine addressing disparities in addiction treatment without first acknowledging and deconstructing the etiology of this inequity. This article examines the history of addiction treatment disparities beginning with early twentieth-century drug policies. We begin by discussing structural racism, its contribution to treatment disparities, using opioid use disorder as a case study to highlight the importance of a structural competency framework in obtaining care. We conclude by discussing diversity in the workforce as an additional tool to minimizing disparities. Addiction treatment should be aimed at addressing care delivery in the context of the social, economic, and political determinants of health, which require appreciation of their historical origins to move toward equitable treatment.

OBJECTIVE:Clinically significant depression occurs in approximately 40% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, and both illnesses severely impair quality of life. This study tests the hypothesis that problem-solving integrated with a treatment adherence intervention, the Problem Solving-Adherence (PSA), is superior to a personalized treatment adherence intervention, the Personalized Intervention for Depressed Patients with COPD (PID-C), alone in improving quality of life in depressed COPD patients. METHODS:After screening 633 admissions for acute rehabilitation, we studied quality of life in 87 participants with major depression (by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) and severe COPD randomly assigned to 14 sessions of PID-C or PSA over 26 weeks. Quality of life was assessed using the Word Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF at baseline and weeks 10, 14, and 26. RESULTS:The hypothesis was not supported. Exploratory latent class growth modeling identified two quality of life trajectories. In 80.5% of participants, quality of life remained unchanged and improved in the remaining 19.5% during the first 14 weeks. Patients with a stable quality trajectory had higher qualityof life at baseline and a stronger sense of personal agency. CONCLUSION:Maintaining quality of life is a favorable outcome in depressed patients with COPD whose course is one of deterioration. These findings highlight the usefulness of PID-C, an easy to learn, personalized adherence enhancement intervention that, after further testing, may be integrated into the rehabilitation and care of depressed COPD patients.

OBJECTIVES:This study examined the association between reward processing, as measured by performance on the probabilistic reversal learning (PRL) task and avoidance/rumination in depressed older adults treated with Engage, a psychotherapy that uses "reward exposure" to increase behavioral activation. METHODS:Thirty older adults with major depression received 9 weeks of Engage treatment. At baseline and treatment end, the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) was used to assess depression severity and the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) to assess behavioral activation and avoidance/rumination. Participants completed the PRL task at baseline and at treatment end. The PRL requires participants to learn stimulus-reward contingencies through trial and error, and switch strategies when the contingencies unexpectedly change. RESULTS:At the end of Engage treatment, the severity of depression was lower (HAM-D: t(19) = -7.67, P < .001) and behavioral activation was higher (BADS: t(19) = 2.23, P = .02) compared to baseline. Response time following all switches (r(19) = -0.63, P = .003) and error switches (r(19) = -0.57, P = .01) at baseline was negatively associated with the BADS avoidance/rumination subscale score at the end of Engage treatment. CONCLUSIONS:Impaired reward learning, evidenced by slower response following all switches and error switches, contributes to avoidant, ruminative behavior at the end of Engage therapy even when depression improves. Understanding reward processing abnormalities of avoidance and rumination may improve the timing and targeting of interventions for these symptoms, whose persistence compromises quality of life and increases the risk of depression relapse.

OBJECTIVE:The Personalized Intervention for Depressed Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (PID-C) is an intervention aiming to help patients adhere to their rehabilitation and care. This study tested the hypothesis that the Problem-Solving Adherence (PSA) intervention, which integrates problem-solving into adherence enhancement procedures, reduces dyspnea-related disability more than PID-C. Exploratory analyses sought to identify patients with distinct dyspnea-related disability trajectories and to compare their clinical profiles. METHODS:In this randomized controlled trial in an acute inpatient rehabilitation and community, 101 participants diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and major depression were included after screening 633 consecutive admissions for acute inpatient rehabilitation. Participants underwent 14 sessions of PID-C versus PSA over 26 weeks using the Pulmonary Functional Status and Dyspnea Questionnaire. RESULTS:The study hypothesis was not supported. Exploratory latent class growth modeling identified two distinct disability trajectories. Dyspnea-related disability improved in 39% of patients and remained unchanged in the rest. Patients whose dyspnea-related disability improved had more severe disability and less sense of control over their condition at baseline. CONCLUSION:Improvement or no worsening of disability was noted in both treatment groups. This is a favorable course for depressed patients with a severe, deteriorating medical illness. PID-C is compatible with the expertise of clinicians working in community-based rehabilitation programs, and after further testing in the community, it can be integrated in the care of depressed COPD patients.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Lack of adherence to appointments wastes resources and portends a poorer outcome for patients. The authors sought to determine whether the type of scheduled endoscopic procedures affect compliance. METHODS:The authors reviewed the final endoscopy schedule from January 2010 to August 2010 in an inner city teaching hospital that serves a predominantly African American population. The final schedule only includes patients who did not cancel, reschedule or notify the facility of their inability to adhere to their care plan up to 24 hours before their procedures. All patients had face to face consultation with gastroenterologists or surgeons before scheduling. The authors identified patients who did not show up for their procedures. They used Poisson regression models to calculate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS:Of 2183 patients who were scheduled for outpatient endoscopy, 400 (18.3%) patients were scheduled for Esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy (EGD), 1,335 (61.2%) for colonoscopy and 448 (20.5%) for both EGD and colonoscopy. The rate of noncompliance was 17.5%, 22.8% and 22.1%, respectively. When compared with those scheduled for only EGD, patients scheduled for colonoscopy alone (RR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.13-1.92) and patients scheduled for both EGD and colonoscopy (RR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.01-1.84) were less likely to show up for their procedures. CONCLUSIONS:This study suggests a high rate of noncompliance with scheduled out-patient endoscopy, particularly for colonoscopy. Because this may be a contributing factor to colorectal cancer disparities, increased community outreach on colorectal cancer education is needed and may help to reduce noncompliance.