A three-year program of training and research is proposed that will study pregnant drug dependent women's personal experiences of encountering and interacting with specific barriers to drug treatment, incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods. Barriers that women face when seeking treatment is important to study because maternal and infant health outcomes are improved when women enter drug treatment early in pregnancy.
The specific aims of the study will be to: 1) describe women's experiences of personal loss and their histories of past trauma as the parenting role becomes imminent; 2) describe women's experiences of fear regarding the potential for criminal prosecution; and 3) describe the impact of these experiences on the task of seeking drug treatment during pregnancy. In this proposed study, 50-60 pregnant drug dependent women will be recruited from prenatal care settings and residential drug treatment programs. Data will be collected from interviews about their experiences in encountering barriers to treatment for drug dependency. The overall goal of this program of research is to create innovative nursing and public health strategies and policy that can promote early enrollment in drug treatment so that maternal and child health outcomes among pregnant drug dependent women and their children are improved.
