MPATTC training staff, Maridee Shogren DNP, CNM, CLC has published an article in the 27 September 2023 publication, Maternal and Child Health Journal. The article, “Reducing Fear to Help Build Healthy Families: Investing in Non-Punitive Approaches to Helping People with Substance Use Disorder” addresses the issue of how fear and stigma stop pregnant and parenting people from seeking needed medical care because they fear being treated poorly by health care providers.

The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) was launched in 2018 to find and foster solutions to the opioid crisis. It funded “Don’t Quit the Quit”(DQTQ) in 2020 at the University of North Dakota. The goal was to expand access to OUD treatment during pregnancy and help people stay in treatment postpartum. In 2021, DQTQ was recognized by North Dakota’s governor for its contributions to improving recovery services in the state. The program has trained 13 health care providers, including family practice physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who offer obstetric care, to provide MOUD. This increased access in 12 of North Dakota’s most rural counties, including two Tribal Nations. Four faculty members from UND’s family medicine program also participated in the training as they prepared to open a MOUD clinic that will expand access to treatment while education residents on how to prescribe MOUD.

Access the article here: “Reducing Fear to Help Build Healthy Families: Investing in Non-Punitive Approaches to Helping People with Substance Use Disorder”