On the Streets and Left for Dead: Examining the Neuropolitical Impact of Undertreating Women of Color with Substance Use Disorders in Chicago

This study examines the experiences of women of color with an addiction in Chicago using a mixed-methods approach of qualitative and quantitative data, Facebook group observational analysis and ethnography. Over 9 months of interviews of women of color with an addiction and addiction treatment professionals in conjunction with observational data from 15 Addiction Facebook Groups and the data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health of 2019 leads to my findings that women of color in Chicago experience undertreatment, inaccessibility, and discomfort when it comes to addiction care and provider experience. Dissatisfaction and lacking treatment lead many women of color to give up on treatment or seek out alternative forms of support from other past and previous addicts in Facebook Groups. The COVID-19 pandemic also sheds light on the opportunities for addiction care telemedicine and novel forms of addiction medicine, including newer and more flexible treatment drugs. I propose policy recommendations occur on 3 levels: federally/state-wide in the form of standardizing the definition of special populations for addiction, in treatment centers by expanding telemedicine and accessible prescription drug treatments, and on an individual level by decreasing stigma towards those with an addiction and changing the way we talk about addiction patients. Above all, this study seeks to empower and center the voices of women of color with an addiction to write their own narratives, rather than be silenced or unacknowledged in treatment contexts or in addiction literature