Confronting COVID, racism, and addiction: The association of multidisciplinary education and research in substance use and addiction (AMERSA)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing opioid epidemic, rise in substance use, and social and political unrest in the US and globally has impacted how substance use-related health needs are addressed. These issues were driving forces in planning AMERSA’s 44th annual conference. True to the multidisciplinary spirit, and with diversity goals and advocacy at the forefront of mind, “together we rise” became the beacon for the AMERSA 2020 conference. This commentary provides an overview of the conference proceedings, topics that were highly relevant for clinicians, educators, researcher, and advocates for change. Abstracts of paper and poster presentations are also provided (Supplemental Material).

Keywords:

• Multidisciplinary
• pandemic
• racism
• addiction

Acknowledgements

The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Funding support for the 2020 Association of Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction (AMERSA) conference was made possible (in part) by the National Institute on Drug Abuse [2R13DA15046-19] and the NIDA Clinical Trials Network.