Black-White differences in barriers to specialty alcohol and drug treatment: findings from a qualitative study

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore, in-depth, differences in barriers to specialty alcohol and drug treatment services between Black and White participants with recent substance use disorders (SUD). We recruited 34 participants with a recent SUD of White and Black racial/ethnic descent for qualitative interviews. Interviews were coded to identify barriers to specialty treatment. We found that barriers related to stigma and lack of social support were more pervasive in the narratives of Blacks as compared to Whites. Results suggest that stigma and lack of perceived social support may impact Blacks more than Whites in seeking SUD treatment.

Keywords:

• alcohol and drug treatment
• Blacks
• health disparities
• specialty substance abuse treatment
• Substance abuse disorders

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author contributions

MP and SZ conceptualized and designed the study. MP conducted the analyses of the data and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. NM and SZ contributed significantly to the interpretation of the findings and subsequent drafts of the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under Grant P50AA005595 and R01AA027767. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.