A Critical Examination of the Incidence of Neonatal Opioid Exposure in Rural Nebraska
Led by Dr. Ann Anderson BerryUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center
Co-Investigator:
Kenneth Zoucha, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Division of Addiction Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Study Overview:
This pilot project aims to elucidate rural Nebraska incidence of intrauterine opioid and substances of abuse exposure to identify evidence based educational interventions and treatment opportunities.
Specific Aims:
(Aim 1): Assess the risk of intrauterine opioid exposure and NOWS from opioids prescribed during pregnancy in rural Nebraska newborns.
(Aim 2): Develop a method to survey polysubstance exposure in late pregnancy across rural Nebraska.
Study Sample Population:
This project will use innovative methods with NEHII (Nebraska’s Health Information Initiative) to enumerate opioid prescriptions to women during pregnancy and compare those rates with local diagnoses of NOWS.
Unique Study Procedures:
This project will utilize an educational module with rural delivery health care providers (physicians, nurses, pharmacists) to ensure staff have an evidenced based process to: minimize maternal opioid prescriptions, identify and initiate treatment for maternal opiate use disorder, recognize and diagnose neonates impacted by maternal opiate use, and care for them accordingly.
Long-Term Goals:
Findings from this proposal with inform our long-term goal of decreasing use and increasing access to care. Results from this project will further inform outreach, prevention and treatment efforts in the perinatal population of rural Nebraska. Additionally, we will disseminate our results (success and failures) to the medical community so that other rural states can utilize similar methodology to impact their rural perinatal populations.
Dr. Ann Anderson BerryPROJECT Director
Dr. Ann Anderson Berry is the Vice-Chair of Research and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Interim Executive Director of the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) at UNMC, Division Chief of Neonatology, and the medical director of a high acuity level III NICU and newborn nursery. Her long-term goal is to understand the implications of perinatal health research findings in communities.