Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues At-A-Glance

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The charts depicted above shows the measures utilized in the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health’s (NSDUH) survey, ranking West Virginia among the ten states with the highest and lowest rates.

With drug abuse being a critical problem in West Virginia, treatment facilities have been implemented to help with those suffering from drug and alcohol dependencies. Per the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (NSSATS), the number of treatment facilities in West Virginia has stayed stable since 2002, amounting to 83 facilities in 2006; there were 59 private nonprofit facilities, and an additional 18 were private for-profit.

These facilities offer a variation of treatment services; in West Virginia, 60 offered outpatient treatment, while making provisions for drug detox programs; 25 facilities offered residential care; 8 facilities provided opioid treatment; and 51 physicians and 18 programs were authorized to provide buprenorphine treatment for opiate addiction. The federal, state, or local government helped to fund 61 facilities, and 39 centers had agreements with managed care organizations.

The 2006 NSSATS survey also showed that West Virginia had a total of 8,691 clients in treatment; 8,075 were receiving outpatient treatment. Of the total clients in treatment, 382 were below 18 years old. Over the last 6 years, West Virginia has seen a decrease in the number of treatment admissions for alcohol and a significant increase in the number of treatment admissions for opiates besides heroin. Statistically, the number of admissions requiring alcohol treatment decreased from 42 percent in 2001 to 35 percent in 2006, while drug-only admissions minimally increased from 29 percent in 2001 to 34 percent in 2006. Staggeringly, the number of treatment admissions for both alcohol and drugs quadrupled, from 8 percent in 2001 to 31 percent in 2006.

Perhaps comfortingly, West Virginia’s rates for individuals requiring treatment but did not receive it in the year prior have been at or below the national rate, especially for individuals age 26 and older.

However, the rates for serious psychological distress (SPD) and major depressive episode (MDE) have been among the highest in the country. Equally disturbing, is the fact that West Virginia’s percentage of admissions reporting psychological issues relating to drug abuse or alcohol abuse has steadily stayed at more than half of all admissions. These statistics are definite proof of how drug and alcohol abuse can adversely affect the mind.

Resource: www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov

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