Academy Launches Four New Tools to Improve Health of Substance Users in Harlem and Citywide

New York City, Dec. 10 ??? Drug users in New York City do not always receive the health care that they need: some are unable to connect with medical services, while others are stigmatized as patients. To help improve the health status of this underserved population, The New York Academy of Medicine launched four new resource guides today that will go a long way toward improving care and access for drug users.

Easy-to-understand tips on improving personal health and navigating the city???s health care system are offered in two of the publications, one focusing on Harlem???s substance users and the other on New York City???s. A third manual instructs physicians on how to better care for active substance users and their unique health problems. The fourth resource is an interactive web-based guide that connects current and former drug users with the services they most need, be it a food pantry, job opportunity or detox program.

These community-focused resources should go a long way toward helping active and former drug users help themselves, said Dr. Jeremiah A. Barondess, President of The New York Academy of Medicine. ???The clinical care community will also be helped in the management of substance abuse, a devastating chronic illness,??? he said. ???I wish we had such resources available for patients and physicians for other diseases.???

The Survival Guide is an easy-to-read health resource designed by and for drug users in Harlem, where opiate dependence is 18 times the national average. Slightly larger than a checkbook, the guide can be slipped into a breast pocket as a handy reference, and its vibrant art lends a street-wise appeal. Topics are both practical and useful. The section on Staying Healthy, for example, explains which parts of the body to avoid when injecting drugs (the groin, neck and arteries). The methadone maintenance section explains whether methadone will make you ???high??? or ruin one???s sex life (it won???t). Other segments explain what actions to take if a friend overdoses, and where to find free HIV testing in Harlem. The guide also offers step-by-step instructions for writing a resume, applying for Medicaid and social security, and getting a driver???s license. The guide was created by the Community Advisory Board of the Urban Research Center, a division of the Academy???s Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies (CUES). Needs were identified with the help of community-based surveys and focus groups, said CUES Director David Vlahov, Ph.D. ???This led to an understanding of the information gaps, which are due partly to content itself and partly to how information is made available,??? Vlahov said. To receive a copy, call Sarah Sisco at 212-419-3590 or email her at ssisco@nyam.org.

Health Matters offers much of the same important health care information as the Survival Guide, but is designed for drug-users throughout the five boroughs rather than solely in Harlem. The guide is also handy for caseworkers who are trying to steer drug users through the maze of available services. A three-page chart lists the many health screening tests available (and free test locations citywide) for conditions from hepatitis C to HIV to cervical cancer. It also explains who needs which tests, and how often. A section called ???Getting Off Drugs??? explains the differences between methadone programs, detox programs, rehab and 12-step programs. The ???Getting Connected??? chapter lists phone numbers to call for help with food stamps, health insurance, housing and more. The guide also offers tips for optimizing doctor visits: make a list of topics you???d like to discuss, for example, and interrupt the doctor if you don???t understand what he???s saying. The publication was created by the Academy???s Office of Special Populations. For a copy, call 822-7237 or Download a PDF version.

The Manual for Primary Care Providers: Effectively Caring for Active Substance Users helps doctors to address all aspects of substance user care. Like the general public, some doctors stigmatize drug users and are uninterested in seeing them, said Ruth Finkelstein, ScD, Director of the Academy???s Office of Special Populations and co-editor of the manual. Physicians receive no training on how to care for this population???s health problems, she said. ???As soon as a patient???s drug use becomes apparent, everything gets treated as a function of their drug use,??? Finkelstein said. ???They???re told that everything from diabetes to frostbite is caused by their drug use.??? This book lists the medical problems common to substance users, special strategies for managing both pain and HIV/AIDS in substance users, treatment options for pregnant substance users, and more. Finkelstein wants the book in the hands of all the interns and residents in training in New York, and hopes it will be used by all doctors in poverty-oriented care facilities. For a copy, call 822-7237.

The web-based Resource Guide is a Harlem-specific tool that helps social service providers to locate health services for their clients. A provider can log on to the site and choose from five needs: food, housing, employment, domestic violence and drug rehabilitation. Providers can request services that are offered in the client???s language and in his community. The Resource Guide can produce a list of suitable resources within seconds. For example, a Spanish-speaking Harlem resident who needs a food pantry will find he can be reliably served at Our Lady Queens of Angels Church. The site will be the first reliable and continuously updated referral source for Harlem social service providers. The database was also developed by the Urban Research Center???s Community Advisory Board

The New York Academy of Medicine is a non-profit institution founded in 1847 that is dedicated to enhancing the health of the public through research, education and advocacy, with a particular focus on urban populations, especially the disadvantaged.

Posted on December 10, 2002

 Print   Subscribe

Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

Press Release Archive