Need for and Receipt of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among Adults, by Gender, in the United States

Objectives Disparities in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment use persist across groups, including gender. Using a gender-informed approach to expand treatment capacity and reduce barriers to treatment engagement is vital. We examined SUD treatment need and receipt among people with SUD in the United States, by gender, and assessed gender-specific sociodemographic factors associated with unmet need for SUD treatment and reported treatment barriers. Methods We conducted an analysis of data among adults aged ≥18 with a past-year SUD from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2015-2018). We computed population-adjusted frequencies and proportions for SUD treatment need and receipt and assessed gender differences. Multivariate logistic regression assessed gender-specific sociodemographic variables associated with SUD treatment receipt. Results Among adults with a past-year SUD, 63.4% were men and 36.6% were women (P < .001), only 10.6% received SUD treatment, and a greater percentage of women than men needed treatment for opioid use disorder (11.9% vs 9.9%; P = .002). Receipt of SUD treatment was lowest among women with alcohol use disorder followed by men with alcohol use disorder (7.5% vs 8.9%; P = .052). Non-Latinx Black men had fewer than half the adjusted odds of receiving SUD treatment than non-Latinx White men (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.27-0.71). Latinx women (aOR = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18-0.73) and non-Latinx Black women (aOR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.27-0.94) had significantly lower odds of receiving SUD treatment than non-Latinx White women. Conclusions As public health efforts target expanding SUD treatment capacity and addressing disparities in use of SUD treatment, interventions informed by gender and culture should be prioritized.