Not only does it appear that racial-ethnic minorities have lower odds of receiving treatment, but these minority groups may actually benefit from additional treatment support compared to European Americans.18 A study by Acevedo et al. assessed whether there were racial-ethnic disparities in the probability to seek treatment for substance use disorder.18 The authors determined whether participation in outpatient treatment was correlated with subsequent arrests, treatment engagement and time to an arrest as the primary outcomes among European Americans, African Americans,2 Latinos, and American Indians from four distinct geographical locations. They found significant differences in both treatment initiation and engagement among the racial-ethnic groups. For example, in New York, African Americans were less likely to engage in treatment compared to European Americans. Furthermore, they found that treatment engagement was related to a decrease in subsequent arrests; however, the extent of the effect varied by geographic location. Not only does this study suggest that there are disparities among treatment initiation and treatment engagement between racial and ethnic groups, but these data provide evidence of the need to personalize AUD medication across different ancestries.
