Nurses can take advantage of a free webinar about women and substance abuse during National Nurses Week courtesy of Johnson & Johnson at Nurse.com/OpioidEpidemic.
According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 18% of people ages 18 or older have used illicit drugs in the past year. Among females 12 and older, more than 15% have used illicit drugs in the past year. Did you know females develop substance-related diseases more quickly than males? Girls and women also become addicted to alcohol, nicotine, and illegal and prescription drugs at lower levels of use and in shorter periods of time compared to boys and men.
Watch this free recorded webinar titled "Substance Abuse and Women," to learn what you need to know to help female patients overcome their addictions.
The webinar is presented by Susanne J. Pavlovich-Danis, MSN, RN, ARNP-C, CDE, CRRN, director of continuing clinical interprofessional education and accreditation for TEAMHealth Institute, a certified diabetes educator, a certified rehabilitation nurse and nursing professor.
As the opioid crisis grows, healthcare professionals across settings need to be informed about gender-specific assessment, intervention, education and referrals for substance abuse. This urgent need for education is why Johnson & Johnson has supported this activity with an educational grant to OnCourse Learning. With this support, OnCourse Learning is providing this webinar and more than a dozen other free continuing education activities in the series to ensure you're prepared to assess and address substance abuse with your patients. These educational opportunities continue through Dec. 31, 2018.
5 facts about women and substance abuse
- Tobacco use is the most common substance dependence, followed by alcohol, then illicit drugs.
- Women are affected by stimulants differently than men. Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine reported in 2015 that among people previously dependent on cocaine, amphetamines and/or methamphetamine, women showed significant loss of gray matter.
- Data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network shows female patients' use of five of the individual narcotic pain relievers -- oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine and hydromorphone -- increased from 2005 to 2011.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration data reveal that among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 7.9 million had a co-occurring mental illness.
- The consequences of substance abuse for women are profound in role functioning as well as the ability to contribute to society and the well-being of their children and families. Women ages 15 to 44 years old are a concern because they are of childbearing age and their substance abuse affects their children, according to the SAMHSA.
