Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.

The objective of this work is to examine disparities in the completion of substance use disorder treatment in the U.S. Our data is from the Treatment Episode Dataset Discharge (TEDS-D) datasets from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for 2017-2019. We apply a...

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Main Authors: Aaron Baird, Yichen Cheng, Yusen Xia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275054
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author Aaron Baird
Yichen Cheng
Yusen Xia
author_facet Aaron Baird
Yichen Cheng
Yusen Xia
author_sort Aaron Baird
collection DOAJ
description The objective of this work is to examine disparities in the completion of substance use disorder treatment in the U.S. Our data is from the Treatment Episode Dataset Discharge (TEDS-D) datasets from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for 2017-2019. We apply a two-stage virtual twins model (random forest + decision tree) where, in the first stage (random forest), we determine differences in treatment completion probability associated with race/ethnicity, income source, no co-occurrence of mental health disorders, gender (biological), no health insurance, veteran status, age, and primary substance (alcohol or opioid). In the second stage (decision tree), we identify subgroups associated with probability differences, where such subgroups are more or less likely to complete treatment. We find the subgroups most likely to complete substance use disorder treatment, when the subgroup represents more than 1% of the sample, are those with no mental health condition co-occurrence (4.8% more likely when discharged from an ambulatory outpatient treatment program, representing 62% of the sample; and 10% more likely for one of the more specifically defined subgroups representing 10% of the sample), an income source of job-related wages/salary (4.3% more likely when not having used in the 30 days primary to discharge and when primary substance is not alcohol only, representing 28% of the sample), and white non-Hispanics (2.7% more likely when discharged from residential long-term treatment, representing 9% of the sample). Important implications are that: 1) those without a co-occurring mental health condition are the most likely to complete treatment, 2) those with job related wages or income are more likely to complete treatment, and 3) racial/ethnicity disparities persist in favor of white non-Hispanic individuals seeking to complete treatment. Thus, additional resources may be needed to combat such disparities.
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spelling doaj.art-c6b83a8f869d4bfd973926b248fb413b2022-12-22T04:07:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01179e027505410.1371/journal.pone.0275054Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.Aaron BairdYichen ChengYusen XiaThe objective of this work is to examine disparities in the completion of substance use disorder treatment in the U.S. Our data is from the Treatment Episode Dataset Discharge (TEDS-D) datasets from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for 2017-2019. We apply a two-stage virtual twins model (random forest + decision tree) where, in the first stage (random forest), we determine differences in treatment completion probability associated with race/ethnicity, income source, no co-occurrence of mental health disorders, gender (biological), no health insurance, veteran status, age, and primary substance (alcohol or opioid). In the second stage (decision tree), we identify subgroups associated with probability differences, where such subgroups are more or less likely to complete treatment. We find the subgroups most likely to complete substance use disorder treatment, when the subgroup represents more than 1% of the sample, are those with no mental health condition co-occurrence (4.8% more likely when discharged from an ambulatory outpatient treatment program, representing 62% of the sample; and 10% more likely for one of the more specifically defined subgroups representing 10% of the sample), an income source of job-related wages/salary (4.3% more likely when not having used in the 30 days primary to discharge and when primary substance is not alcohol only, representing 28% of the sample), and white non-Hispanics (2.7% more likely when discharged from residential long-term treatment, representing 9% of the sample). Important implications are that: 1) those without a co-occurring mental health condition are the most likely to complete treatment, 2) those with job related wages or income are more likely to complete treatment, and 3) racial/ethnicity disparities persist in favor of white non-Hispanic individuals seeking to complete treatment. Thus, additional resources may be needed to combat such disparities.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275054
spellingShingle Aaron Baird
Yichen Cheng
Yusen Xia
Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.
PLoS ONE
title Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.
title_full Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.
title_fullStr Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.
title_full_unstemmed Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.
title_short Use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment.
title_sort use of machine learning to examine disparities in completion of substance use disorder treatment
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275054
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