Nikki Kean – 2021
Approximately 8.7 million children in the United States (12.3%) live with at least 1 parent with a substance use disorder (SUD). The majority of these children, who range from newborns to 17 years of age, live with a parent with alcohol use disorder (7.5 million); but a significant number, 2.1 million children, live in a home with illicit drug use. Substance use disorder affects people of all age, socioeconomic class, sex, and race. Unfortunately, the disease often becomes a family disease, with the non-SUD partner and children affected by the disorder. Therefore, it is important for health care providers to screen children for signs of abuse or neglect that may be related to SUD in the family, according to a virtual presentation at the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Annual Meeting (NAPNAP 2021) by Angela Nash, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, PMHS, of the Cizik School of Nursing at UT Health in Houston, and Michelle Hansford, outreach and care coordinator at Santa Maria Hostel in Houston Texas.