Culture, stigma, and inequities creating barriers in alcohol use disorder management in alcohol-associated liver disease

As hepatology providers, we assemble a toolbox of interventions to treat acute and chronic liver diseases with a goal to prevent fibrosis progression, HCC, and hepatic decompensation while also improving the quality of life and survival of our patients (Figure 1). This toolbox has been built based on our experiences during clinical training and the practice of routine patient care. We are comfortable with a diverse set of tools, from antivirals to immunosuppressive medications, vasoactive medications to beta-blockers, as well as performing interventions such as endoscopy, banding, paracentesis, and liver biopsies. Hepatology providers have accepted that in the setting of chronic liver disease, we are primarily responsible for prescribing interventions, which treat the underlying liver insult and follow-up on outcomes and side effects using a multidisciplinary approach. Yet, when it comes to the management of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the setting of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), our discipline seems to have made an exception. Although treatment of AUD has been identified as a quality metric in the care of patients with liver disease,1 rates of AUD treatment in those with ALD are astonishingly low,2,3 and current societal recommendations are to refer elsewhere for AUD management once identified.4,5 Why has this culture evolved among hepatology providers? Is it a lack of knowledge and/or comfort in AUD treatment? Do patients with AUD and their providers have difficulty accessing the tools when needed? Importantly, can social stigma and sociocultural considerations influence patient participation in AUD treatment? The answer is all of the above.FIGURE 1: The hepatology toolbox—how do we include alcohol use disorder treatment?.DESPITE THE BENEFIT, TREATMENT OF AUD IN ALD RARELY HAPPENS It is universally agreed that alcohol abstinence is the cornerstone of ALD management, as it is associated with improved liver-related outcomes3 and is cost-effective and even cost-saving in those with ALD cirrhosis.6 Yet despite this, 2 large cohort studies of individuals with AUD and ALD cirrhosis have shown that only ~15% receive AUD behavioral therapy and a mere 1% receive pharmacotherapy.2,3 Why are AUD treatment rates so low? To begin, data have suggested that apart from psychiatry and addiction medicine, physicians receive minimal training in AUD identification and management and do not feel equipped to treat it. Surveys by GI/hepatology providers suggest that almost all screen universally for frequency and quality of alcohol consumption; however, almost half never/rarely screen for AUD, and 70% never/rarely prescribe AUD therapy.7 The most common provider-perceived barriers to prescribing AUD pharmacotherapy were lack of training, unfamiliarity, and lack of time. Other studies have identified patient-perceived barriers, including lack of apparent benefit to treatment, financial and insurance obstacles, and access to transportation.8 However, in addition to these hurdles, other patient-related barriers are faced disproportionately by those most vulnerable in society. SOCIOCULTURAL AND EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS INFLUENCING DELIVERY OF AUD/ALD THERAPY A significant proportion of individuals with AUD/ALD are from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic, sex/gender, and sociocultural groups9 and those vulnerable in their social determinants of health, creating additional barriers to AUD treatment (Figure 2). These disparities are complex and historically rooted in patterns of systemic discrimination and socioeconomic disadvantage.10 Overall, AUD treatment is most effective as a combination of pharmacologic and behavioral interventions, yet most studies evaluating AUD treatment underrepresent those of diverse cultural, racial/ethnic, and sex/gender backgrounds and have not been designed to address important dimensions of diversity. In considering those vulnerable in social determinants of health, pharmacologic treatments require public and/or private insurance to cover costs, while in addition to cost, behavioral therapy also requires significant time and social resources to participate. These include the ability to take time from work in those employed and/or the ability to delay home obligations if caring for dependents. Individuals must also secure transportation and be in proximity to AUD behavioral treatment, or if able to be delivered remotely, have access to technological resources for participation. Finally, culturally and linguistically appropriate AUD services are required to provide safe and equitable access to AUD treatment to all but are not universally accessible. Moving forward, these important aspects of diversity will need to be considered in the development and delivery of AUD services.FIGURE 2: Barriers to alcohol use disorder treatment in vulnerable populations.SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR WOMEN AND YOUTHS Women and youths have been identified as populations experiencing a disproportionate increase in harm from AUD/ALD and have emerged as priority groups in need of AUD treatment.11,12 Women and youths with AUD have a high prevalence of co-morbid mental health conditions and have experienced mental, physical, and/or sexual abuse, which can impact participation and outcomes of treatment. Although outcomes of AUD treatment are comparable between sexes, women are less likely to receive treatment than men.12 Unique factors among women that can influence participation in AUD treatment include issues surrounding motherhood, such as the need for childcare to participate and perceived or experienced social stigma creating fear of the involvement of child protective services if AUD is disclosed.12 Further, no AUD pharmacotherapy has been shown to be safe for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, limiting treatment options during this time. Similarly, for youths, no pharmacotherapies are FDA-approved to treat AUD in those ≤18 years of age, and no trials of AUD treatment among youths with ALD have been conducted. Despite the knowledge that most adults with AUD began using alcohol during the teenage years, the majority of efforts developed to treat AUD have not focused on identification and intervention during adolescence, which may be a key time for behavioral change. Further, the delivery of AUD behavioral therapy for youths is best if the family and caregivers partake, which again will be dependent on the ability of not only the individuals but also their social circle to participate. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS Several provider, hospital, research, and societal solutions to address barriers in AUD management in ALD are outlined in Figure 3. On an individual GI/Hepatology provider level, the universal implementation of standardized screening tools for AUD to all patients with ALD at the time of the first clinical encounter should be straightforward to implement. In addition to this, the delivery of an AUD pharmacotherapy curriculum to GI/Hepatology trainees, nurses, and clinicians could empower them with the knowledge and skills to initiate AUD pharmacotherapy among their ALD patients. This would be especially important in settings where access to addiction medicine is limited. From a hospital level, providing language and transportation services to facilitate access to AUD behavioral therapy would be specifically helpful to engage vulnerable populations. Further, universal and quick access to inpatient and outpatient addiction medicine consultative services, social work, and psychiatry are essential. From an academic level, the development of studies, which evaluate AUD treatment and outcomes among those with advanced ALD, are needed in addition to the inclusion of previously understudied and vulnerable populations as outlined above. From a society level, it is vital to address the stigma attached to a diagnosis of AUD to empower patients to seek appropriate help without worry about judgment or discrimination. This could involve public education campaigns that emphasize AUD as a disease as opposed to a personal choice and highlight how appropriate treatment of AUD can lead to disease remission and improve other alcohol-associated harms including ALD.FIGURE 3: Potential solutions to address disparities in AUD treatment among those with ALD. Abbreviations: ALD, alcohol-associated liver disease; AUD, alcohol use disorder.CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS AUD is a preventable cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality, and AUD treatment is associated with improved outcomes, especially among those with ALD. Yet the use of AUD treatment in those with ALD is discouragingly low due to the paucity of well-executed clinical trials and patient and provider barriers, with additional unique barriers faced by underrepresented and vulnerable members of society. As hepatology providers caring for these patients, our discipline needs to begin gathering AUD treatment tools to put in our toolbox. Importantly, these tools will need to incorporate considerations surrounding stigma, culture, diversity, and equity in order to provide the best care for our diverse patient population.

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