Promotion of Digital Access & Literacy among People who Use Substances 

Digital literacy is now being recognized as a social determinant of health. Digital literacy is often defined as the varying ability of both children and adults to use digital technologies and understand their risks. Emerging research suggests that people who have lower digital literacy may experience poorer health outcomes and quality of life. Digital interventions are being used to bridge gaps in service access and availability by supplementing or delivering substance use care. Yet, if factors such as technology access and digital literacy are not addressed, health disparities, like in substance use, will continue to persist. This talk will 1) review feedback from people who use substances in the St. Louis, Missouri region about an ongoing digital health intervention, 2) discuss how the information gleaned is being actively used to integrate digital literacy into substance use care programming, and 3) demonstrate how our research team continues to advocate for the prioritization of digital access and literacy in the region, especially for lower-income and non-white recovery communities. 

Speaker Information

Dr. Hannah S. Szlyk, PhD, LCSW is an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with training in suicidology among underserved and marginalized populations and in qualitative and mixed methods study design and analyses. Prior to pursuing a PhD,  she worked as a clinical social worker in school, in-patient, step-down, and outpatient settings with adolescents and adults with comorbid psychiatric disorders, including substance use. Her current research focuses on the development, testing, and implementation of digital interventions (mHealth) to improve service access and treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) and commonly occurring mental disorders (COMD) across the lifespan. Her work is heavily grounded in approaches for health equity and collaborative relationships with community-based organizations and recovery support services. Dr. Szlyk currently co-leads an ongoing SAMHSA-funded trial of a supplemental mHealth intervention to support adherence to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among adults that involves several Midwestern behavioral health clinics. This has led to new studies supported by the National Institutes of Health to meet the recovery needs of pregnant and postpartum people and Black Americans with OUD and co-occurring mental health issues.

This presentation addresses improving health literacy and increasing health equity through information and supports the NNLM Substance Use Disorders  (SUD) initiative that aims to raise the awareness of NLM and partner organization's SUD resources, provide educational opportunities for network members and develop strategies to meet national and regional information needs.

Sponsored by the Network of the National Library of Medicine, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to 1 total Category I contact education contact hour. Provider ID#_1144109_

Up to 1 Credit(s) in Public Health Recertification Credits may be earned at this event.

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