Exploring Substance Use in Women

Exploring Substance Use in Women is organized by EdCompass. This course has been approved for a maximum of 2.00 Continuing Education Credit Hours.

This course expires on 10/13/2024

CEU Course Description:
People may face unique issues when it comes to substance use, as a result of both sex and gender. This intermediate-level continuing education course, which was developed using information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addresses unique characteristics and issues pertaining to substance misuse among women. The reason women use drugs, how they respond, and the way that substance use disorders manifest in women compared to men are discussed as well as sex and gender differences in substance use disorder treatment. In addition, a summary of how specific drugs impact women is presented as well as an overview of how substance use impacts pregnant and breastfeeding women.  Finally, the need to include women in clinical research related to substance misuse is examined.

CEU Course Objectives:
• Identify unique characteristics of women as well as circumstances and issues they face that may impact substance use and misuse.
• Compare and contrastmen and women in regard to use patterns, effects, and consequences of specific drugs.
• Describe the impact of substance misuse among pregnant and breastfeeding women, including how various drugs may impact the fetus and the newborn.
• Differentiate between sex and gender differences in substance use disorder treatment, including unique barriers to treatment that women face.
• Determine how the presence of co-occurring disorders, violence victimization, and race and ethnicity influence substance misuse among women.
• Discuss factors that have hindered female participation in research as well as the importance of including women in clinical research related to substance misuse and other health issues that impact them.