Findings from Drs. Salter, Mendez, Jarlenski, and their team can assist Medicaid agencies in understanding how MCOs interpret and implement equity-based policy to ensure intended populations are benefiting from the planned outcomes.
Drs. Jarlenski and Mendez's mixed methods research evaluating Pennsylvania Medicaid's equity payment program and equity focused obstetric bundle show how Medicaid policy interventions can promote racial equity in pregnancy and child health.
Join CONVERGE faculty members, Marian Jarlenski, PhD, MPH, Suji Uhm, MD, MPH, Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, Mehret Birru Talabi, PhD, MD, and Greer Donley, JD, at Medicine Grand Rounds for Dobbs, Abortion Bans, and Repercussions on the Practice of Medicine.
Drs. Kislovskiy and Jarlenski found that pharmacies were unlikely to carry PrEP or PEP, with event less carrying in rural compared to urban. Addressing pharmacy barriers to PrEP/PEP may enhance access to HIV prevention for those living at high risk of HIV.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544319124001043
The freedom to use one’s preferred contraceptive method—or no method—is fundamental to reproductive autonomy, which is a particularly salient issue for disabled people, who face substantial barriers to person-centered contraceptive care while also being subjected to interference in reproductive decision making.
Drs. Mendez, Jarlenski, Chang, and their team measured racial inequities in drug testing among pregnant people and found that clinicians were more likely to order urine drug testing for Black patients compared with their White counterparts.
Read more of their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37769307/
Dr. Marian Jarlenski's recent study shows:
• There are racial/ethnic inequities in medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) use during pregnancy.
• Less is known about racial/ethnic inequities in MOUD use postpartum.
• White women had longer duration of MOUD postpartum than Hispanic or Black women.
• Inequities differed by type of MOUD.
• Reducing inequities in MOUD use is critical to improving perinatal outcomes.
Read more about their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37058829/
Drs. Jarlenski and Krans conducted a scoping review including seven studies that highlight the literature's limited understanding of why women in the first year postpartum are particularly vulnerable to opioid overdose. Recomendations within the literature include:
Dr. Marian Jarlenski's study looked at the duration of medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy and postpartum by race and ethnicity in Medicaid and found that:
- There are racial/ethnic inequities in MOUD use during pregnancy.
- Less is known about racial/ethnic inequities in MOUD use postpartum.
- White women had longer duration of MOUD postpartum than Hispanic or Black women.
- Inequities differed by type of MOUD.
Drs. Gao, Krans, and Jarlenski found in their recent study that female parents are less likely to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) or receive medication for an opioid use disorder (MOUD) than male parents. Removing policies that criminalize parental SUD and addressing childcare-related barriers may improve SUD identification and treatment.
Read more about their findings here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37214425/
