Substance Use Disorders and COVID-19: Multi-Faceted Problems Which Require Multi-Pronged Solutions

Wossenseged Birhane Jemberie; Jennifer Stewart Williams; Malin Eriksson; Ann-Sofie Grönlund; Nawi Ng; Marcus Blom Nilsson; Mojgan Padyab; Kelsey Caroline Priest; Mikael Sandlund; Fredrik Snellman; Dennis McCarty; Lena M Lundgren

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00714

Substance Use Disorders and COVID-19: Multi-Faceted Problems Which Require Multi-Pronged Solutions

Front Psychiatry. 2020 Jul 21:11:714. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00714. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Wossenseged Birhane Jemberie^{1

2

3}, Jennifer Stewart Williams^{4

5}, Malin Eriksson¹, Ann-Sofie Grönlund¹, Nawi Ng^{4

6}, Marcus Blom Nilsson¹, Mojgan Padyab^{1

2}, Kelsey Caroline Priest⁷, Mikael Sandlund⁸, Fredrik Snellman¹, Dennis McCarty⁹, Lena M Lundgren^{1

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social Work, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
² Centre for Demography and Ageing Research (CEDAR), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
³ The Swedish National Graduate School for Competitive Science on Ageing and Health (SWEAH), Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
⁵ Research Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.
⁶ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁷ MD/PhD Program, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States.
⁸ Psychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
⁹ Oregon Health & Science University- Portland State University, School of Public Health, Portland, OR, United States.
¹⁰ Cross-National Behavioral Health Laboratory, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States.

Abstract

COVID-19 shocked health and economic systems leaving millions of people without employment and safety nets. The pandemic disproportionately affects people with substance use disorders (SUDs) due to the collision between SUDs and COVID-19. Comorbidities and risk environments for SUDs are likely risk factors for COVID-19. The pandemic, in turn, diminishes resources that people with SUD need for their recovery and well-being. This article presents an interdisciplinary and international perspective on how COVID-19 and the related systemic shock impact on individuals with SUDs directly and indirectly. We highlight a need to understand SUDs as biopsychosocial disorders and use evidence-based policies to destigmatize SUDs. We recommend a suite of multi-sectorial actions and strategies to strengthen, modernize and complement addiction care systems which will become resilient and responsive to future systemic shocks similar to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; addiction care; evidence-based policies and practices; integrated care; pandemic; risk environment; social capital; substance use disorder (SUD).

Abstract

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