Abstract

Objectives

Young adults have the highest rates of substance use of any age group. Although men historically have higher rates of substance use disorders (SUDs) than women, research shows this gender gap is narrowing. Young adults with comorbid psychiatric disorders are at increased risk for developing a SUD. Co-occurring psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating and post-traumatic stress disorders are more prevalent in women than men with SUDs, yet mental health treatment often does not adequately address substance use in patients receiving care for a comorbid psychiatric disorder. Tailored gender-responsive interventions for women with psychiatric disorders and co-occurring SUD have gained empirical support. Digital interventions tailored to young adult women with co-occurring disorders have the potential to overcome barriers to addressing substance use for young adult women in a psychiatric treatment setting. This study utilized a user-centered design process to better understand how technology could be used to address substance use in young adult women receiving inpatient and residential psychiatric care. Methods: Women (N = 15; age 18–25 years), recruited from five psychiatric treatment programs, engaged in a qualitative interview and completed self-report surveys on technology use and acceptability. Qualitative interviews were coded for salient themes. Results: Results showed that few participants were currently using mental health web-based applications (i.e., “apps”), but most participants expressed an interest in using apps as part of their mental health treatment. Participants identified several important topics salient to women their age including substance use and sexual assault, stigma and shame, difficulties abstaining from substance use while maintaining social relationships with peers, and negative emotions as a trigger for use. Conclusions: These data provide preliminary evidence that a digital intervention may be a feasible way to address co-occurring substance use problems in young adult women receiving care in a psychiatric setting.

中文翻译：

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探索基于技术的增强对同时使用药物的年轻成年女性的住院和住院治疗

摘要

目标

在所有年龄组中，年轻人的物质使用率最高。尽管从历史上看，男性的物质使用障碍 (SUD) 发病率高于女性，但研究表明这种性别差距正在缩小。患有共病精神疾病的年轻人患 SUD 的风险增加。与 SUD 患者相比，抑郁、焦虑、饮食和创伤后应激障碍等同时发生的精神疾病在女性中更为普遍，但心理健康治疗通常不能充分解决接受共病精神疾病护理的患者的物质使用问题。为患有精神疾病和同时发生 SUD 的女性量身定制的性别敏感干预措施已获得经验支持。为同时患有疾病的年轻成年女性量身定制的数字干预措施有可能克服在精神科治疗环境中解决年轻成年女性药物使用问题的障碍。本研究采用以用户为中心的设计过程，以更好地了解如何使用技术解决接受住院和住院精神科护理的年轻成年女性的物质使用问题。方法：女性（N  = 15；年龄 18-25 岁），从五个精神病治疗项目中招募，进行定性访谈并完成关于技术使用和可接受性的自我报告调查。定性访谈被编码为突出的主题。结果：结果显示，目前很少有参与者使用基于网络的心理健康应用程序（即“应用程序”），但大多数参与者表示有兴趣将应用程序用作心理健康治疗的一部分。参与者确定了几个对同龄女性突出的重要主题，包括药物使用和性侵犯、污名和羞耻、在与同龄人保持社会关系的同时难以戒除药物使用，以及作为使用触发因素的负面情绪。结论：这些数据提供了初步证据，表明数字干预可能是解决在精神病院接受护理的年轻成年女性同时出现的物质使用问题的可行方法。