Recovery Capital among Migrants and Ethnic Minorities in Recovery from Problem Substance Use: An Analysis of Lived Experiences

Migrants and ethnic minorities (MEM) are known to be disadvantaged concerning risk factors for problem substance use and resources to initiate and sustain recovery (i.e., recovery capital). Yet, the voices of MEM are largely overlooked in recovery literature. This study explores recovery capital through 34 semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of MEM in recovery in two ethnically diverse cities in Belgium. A Qualitative Content Analysis using recovery capital theory allowed us to identify various recovery resources on a personal, social, and community level. While physical and human recovery resources play a central role in participants’ narratives, personal recovery capital is closely intertwined with meaningful social networks (i.e., social recovery capital) and recovery-supportive environments that maximize opportunities for building culturally sensitive recovery capital (i.e., community recovery capital). Though MEM-specific elements such as culture, migration background, stigma, and structural inequalities play a significant role in the recovery resources of MEM, the largely “universal” nature of recovery capital became clear. The narratives disclose a distinction between “essential” and “acquired” recovery capital, as well as the duality of some recovery resources. The need for developing recovery-oriented systems of care that are culturally responsive, diminish structural inequalities, and facilitate building recovery capital that is sensitive to the needs of MEM is emphasized.

Exploring temporal varying demographic and economic disparities in COVID-19 infections in four U.S. areas: based on OLS, GWR, and random forest models

Although studies have previously investigated the spatial factors of COVID-19, most of them were conducted at a low resolution and chose to limit their study areas to high-density urbanized regions. Hence, this study aims to investigate the economic-demographic disparities in COVID-19 infections and their spatial-temporal patterns in areas with different population densities in the United States. In particular, we examined the relationships between demographic and economic factors and COVID-19 density using ordinary least squares, geographically weighted regression analyses, and random forest based on zip code-level data of four regions in the United States. Our results indicated that the demographic and economic disparities are significant. Moreover, several areas with disadvantaged groups were found to be at high risk of COVID19 infection, and their infection risk changed at different pandemic periods. The findings of this study can contribute to the planning of public health services, such as the adoption of smarter and comprehensive policies for allocating economic recovery resources and vaccines during a public health crisis.

Delayed discharge for non-clinical reasons among stroke patients in a high-complexity hospital: A cross-sectional study

Delayed discharge for non-clinical reasons (bed-blocking) is characteristic of pathologies associated with ageing, loss of functional capacity and dependence such as stroke. The aims of this study were to describe the costs and characteristics of cases of patients with stroke and delayed discharge for non-clinical reasons (bed-blocking) compared with cases of bed-blocking (BB) for other reasons and to assess the relationship between the length of total stay (LOS) with patient characteristics and the context of care. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a high complexity public hospital in Northern Spain (2007-2015). 443 stroke patients presented with BB. Delayed discharge increased LOS by approximately one week. The mean age was 80.22 years, significantly higher than in cases of BB for other reasons. Patients with stroke and BB are usually older patients, however, when younger patients are affected, their length of stay is longer in relation to the sudden onset of the problem and the lack of adequate functional recovery resources or residential facilities for intermediate care.

Using Timely Overdose Data to Address a Spike in Nonfatal Overdoses and Inform a Coordinated Community-Level Response in Rhode Island, 2019

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) uses emergency department data to monitor nonfatal opioid overdoses in Rhode Island. In April 2019, RIDOH detected an increase in nonfatal opioid overdoses in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and sent an alert to state and local partners (eg, fire departments, emergency departments, faith leaders) with guidance on how to respond. To guide community-level, strategic response efforts, RIDOH analyzed surveillance data to identify overdose patterns, populations, and geographic areas most affected. During April–June 2019, nonfatal opioid overdoses in Woonsocket increased 463% (from 13 to 73) when compared with the previous 3 months. Because of the sustained increase in nonfatal opioid overdoses, RIDOH brought together community partners at a meeting in June 2019 to discuss RIDOH opioid overdose data and coordinate next steps. Data analyses were essential to framing the discussion and allowed community partners at the event to identify an unexpected increase in cocaine-involved nonfatal opioid overdoses in Woonsocket. Many patients with cocaine-involved nonfatal overdoses also had fentanyl in their system, and input from community partners suggested that many patients were unaware of using fentanyl. Community response actions included targeting harm reduction services (eg, distribution of naloxone, mobile needle exchange); deploying peer recovery support specialists to overdose hotspots to connect people to treatment and recovery resources; placing harm reduction messaging in high-traffic areas; and targeted social media messaging. After the meeting, nonfatal opioid overdoses returned to pre-outbreak levels. This case study provides an example of how timely opioid overdose data can be effectively used to detect a spike in nonfatal opioid overdoses and inform a strategic, community-level response.

Injurious information propagation and its global stability considering activity and normalized recovering rate

This paper establishes a compartment model describing the propagation of injurious information among a well-mixed population. We define the information’s injuriousness as the people practicing the information being injured and leaving the system. Some informed people practice the information and are active, while others do not practice and are inactive. With the recovery resources fixed, the two groups of informed people’s recovering rates are normalized considering the information features. The stability of the nonlinear system is thoroughly studied. Analyzing the reproduction number of the injurious information, we find that in general parameter space, when there are people in an informed compartment, it is not always necessary to consider their recovery resource allocation. Instead, only when their proportion reaches a critical point should it be allocated. Unless the people in an informed compartment form a certain proportion, we can take a laissez-faire attitude towards them. In a more realistic parameter space, once inactive informed people exist, they should be allocated recovery resources. On the one hand, when the recovering rate rises, the focus on both groups of informed people is necessary for more situations. On the other hand, when the rate of active informed people leaving the system rises, ignoring active informed people benefits removing the injurious information in more cases. The model provides qualitative ways in the scenarios of removing injurious information.

The Effects of Service Crises and Recovery Resources on Market Reactions: An Event Study Analysis on Data Breach Announcements

Building on the literatures on service failure and crisis seriousness, we develop a framework to understand the effects of a specific type of service crisis (i.e., data breaches) and organizational recovery resources on the reactions of the stock market. To do so, we conduct an event study analysis with a sample of 217 data breach announcements, as our empirical context. Our analyses reveal that a firm suffers from negative abnormal stock returns when either the outcome of the breach (e.g., the breach of financial data) or its causal process (e.g., hacker attack) indicates a high level of seriousness. Moreover, considering organizational recovery resources, we find that in the case of financial data breaches, age, size, profitability, liquidity, and brand familiarity are the primary resources that can help a firm’s recovery. For hacker attacks, these organizational recovery resources include size, profitability, and liquidity.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Opioids and the Workplace—Urgent Action Needed

The workplace has been a neglected element in the national response to the opioid crisis. This ignores that workplace safety and health and drug policies have become important factors in opioid use disorder among workers. This results from physical or emotional pain related to workplace injuries, illnesses, and stress, and through punitive workplace drug policies, failure to address stigma, and inadequate access to treatment and recovery resources. This comprehensive New Solutions special issue encompasses timely cutting-edge research, commentaries, activism, and calls for action on primary prevention in the workplace and intervention research. It also addresses the convergence of the COVID-19 and the opioid crises, high-risk occupations and industries, health inequalities, employer and union programs, peer advocacy and member assistance programs, worker training, health parity for addiction treatment and recovery services, protection of first responders and site clean-up workers, working conditions of substance use treatment workers, and calls for necessary funding.

Workplace Support for Employees in Recovery From Opioid Use: Stakeholder Perspectives

The dual challenges of COVID-19 and the opioid epidemic have heightened the need of Maryland workplaces for accessible resources and supports. This paper describes efforts of the Workplace PROSPER (Partnering to Reduce Opioid Stigma and Support Employment in Recovery) project team to explore opioid-related state employment needs from Key Stakeholder perspectives. Discussion revealed significant overlap between the needs identified by stakeholders and pre-existing recovery friendly initiatives in other states. However, this convening identified the need for increased training of medical professionals in communicating about work capacity and safety as well as for resources to support family members of individuals with Opioid Use Disorder and model programs for hiring individuals in recovery. Next steps include the creation and dissemination of a survey to obtain a broader base of feedback and the development of a robust set of online recovery resources for Maryland employers and employees.

I contain multitudes: A qualitative investigation of impacts of COVID-19 on alcohol use disorder recovery

Objective: In March 2020, restrictions on in-person gatherings were introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, integral alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery resources migrated to virtual platforms. Given the importance of these resources for maintaining recovery, this study investigated how these restrictions impacted recovery attempts and explored participant experiences with virtual resources. Methods: Participants attempting recovery from an AUD (N=62; M age = 48.2; %F=53.2; 71% White) were recruited from two larger research projects. Participants completed virtual interviews, responding to questions about their experience during the COVID-19 lockdown, impacts on recovery, and experiences with online resources. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic coding process. Results: The three overarching themes identified were: Effect on Recovery, Virtual Recovery Resources, and Effect on General Life. Within each overarching theme, lower-order parent themes and subthemes reflected varied participant experiences. Specifically, one group of participants cited negative impacts due to COVID-19, a second group reported positive impacts, and a third group where each participant reported experiencing both positive and negative impacts. Additionally, while participants had positive experiences with virtual resources, they also cited negative experiences and identified suggestions for improvement and other requested resources. Conclusions: Findings suggest that while many participants experienced significant hardships, a proportion of participants experienced unexpected positive impacts as well. Additionally, findings highlight that virtual resources may not work for everyone, and a longterm replacement of in-person with virtual resources may leave some individuals without the support they need to maintain recovery.

How Experiences Affect Psychological Responses During Supervised Fasting: A Preliminary Study

As an unusual event, fasting can induce strong physiological and psychological reactions, but there is still no clear understanding of how previous fasting experiences affect people’s responses to current fasting. This study aimed to investigate the influence of previous fasting experiences on participants’ basic physiological and psychological responses in a fasting experiment conducted under intensive medical monitoring. For a 22-day experiment divided into four phases (3-day Baseline; 10-day Complete Fasting; 4-day Calorie Restriction; and 5-day Recovery phases), a total of 13 persons participated; the participants were divided into a group with prior fasting experience (Experienced: N = 6) and a group without prior fasting experience (Newbie: N = 7). The results indicate no group differences in physiological responses (i.e., weight, glucose, and ketone bodies); however, differences in psychological states were observed, with the Newbie group showing more negative psychological states overall throughout the experiment (i.e., greater appetite, more negative mood states, more stress, less vitality, and fewer recovery resources). Hence, previous fasting experience may be a buffer against negative feelings during current fasting. For this reason, it is important to consider fasting experiences as a vital factor in future research.