Barriers, strengths, and strategies for the post-hospital treatment of children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome and their mothers: a Delphi study

ABSTRACT

The purpose of our study was to obtain expert opinions with respect to the barriers, strengths, and strategies related to community-based services for children ages 0 to 3 years who were born with NAS and their mothers' post-hospital discharge. Participants consisted of the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Children’s Developmental Service Agency (CDSA) employees in 10 western North Carolina counties. We used a Delphi study approach with an online survey consisting of three rounds of surveys over 4 months. Information yielded from this study can be used to help guide policy-level efforts in improving long-term outcomes for children and their families.

KEYWORDS:

• Neonatal abstinence syndrome
• community-based treatment
• rural
• medicaid

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the CDSA and DSS employees in western North Carolina who helped us better understand how this growing epidemic is affecting the most vulnerable of our population.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

The authors declare that they were not supported by outside funding.

Notes on contributors

Angela Lewis-Myers

Angela Lewis-Myers, MA, MSW, is currently a program manager with an Accountable Care Organization in North Carolina, working as an administrator and advocate for advanced care planning. Her experience also includes work in child and adolescent behavioral health,  as well as in quality and compliance for Medicaid managed care in North Carolina.

R. Turner Goins

R. Turner Goins, MS, Ph.D., is the Ambassador Jeanette W. Hyde Endowed Professor at Western Carolina University in the Department of Social Work. Her research focuses on American Indian and Alaska Native health- and aging-related issues. Recently she was a J. William Fulbright Scholar at the University of Auckland, where she studied aging issues among the Māori. Dr. Goins is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America and past President of the Southern Gerontological Society (2016-17).