Characteristics associated with the availability of therapeutic acupuncture in substance use disorder treatment facilities in the United States

Abstract

Background

We examine the characteristics associated with the availability of therapeutic acupuncture in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities in the United States (US).

Methods

This study utilizes data from the 2018 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). Multivariable logistic regression was performed.

Results

Only 5.5% (n = 814) of all SUD treatment facilities offered acupuncture therapy. Facilities operating an opioid treatment program (OTP) were 1.60 times more likely to offer therapeutic acupuncture than non-OTP facilities. Facilities that offered oral naltrexone pharmacotherapy or buprenorphine with naloxone pharmacotherapy were 1.63 and 1.37 times more likely to offer therapeutic acupuncture, respectively, compared to facilities that did not offer these pharmacotherapies. Federal government facilities were over four times more likely to offer acupuncture than those operated by state governments and had triple the odds of having acupuncture than private nonprofit organizations. Tribal facilities were over five times more likely than state government-operated facilities to offer acupuncture. Facilities located in the Western region of the US were 1.59, 1.39, and 1.30 times more likely than Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern US regions, respectively, to offer acupuncture therapy.

Conclusions

Although complementary and holistic approaches such as acupuncture are accepted adjunct methods to treat persons with SUD, the findings suggest that their utilization in SUD treatment facilities in the US is minimal. Results, however, highlight that facilities operated by tribal and federal governments, those that are located in the Western region of the US, and non-hospital facilities have the highest odds of incorporating therapeutic acupuncture as treatment for SUD.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10550887.2022.2056401 .

Keywords:

• Substance use disorder
• acupuncture
• opioid treatment program
• treatment facilities
• National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services

Acknowledgements

We thanks Rona Bern (MPH) for conducting the initial literature review for this paper and Lily Y Gu (MS) for conducting the initial analysis of the paper.

Disclosure statement

Dr. Porucznik has provided Epi consulting work to McKesson Corporation. Dr. Komaromy is paid by the American Society of Addiction Medicine for curriculum development. The rest of the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.