Members of racial and ethnic minority groups were less likely to obtain prescriptions to treat opioid addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by researchers at Rutgers and Indiana University. Writing in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, researchers said their findings give further weight to the conclusion that minority groups were more negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and face more barriers to health care in general.

“Drops in prescribing medication to treat opioid addiction at the onset of the pandemic were significant for Black, Hispanic and Asian patients, but not for white patients,” said Jennifer Miles, an author of the study and a postdoctoral associate in the School of Social Work. To read the full story.