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Abstract

Addiction is linked to high rates of death and disability in the United States. It is a burden on our individual and collective health as well as our health care system. Though we should begin by attending to socioecological problems and risk factors, the treatment system is an important part of care. I intended to research the accessibility of substance abuse treatment options in Colorado Springs, CO and how access informed behavior through the lens of human ecology. I gathered location data for treatment options using the Google search engine and created maps using QGIS. The first map depicts mutual-aid groups and inpatient rehabilitation clinics. While a more complex model including spaciotemporal aspects is necessary to analyze location accessibility, the geographic representation allowed for a broad discussion of spread, quantity, and shifting landscapes. I focused on the recent sphere of opioid substitution therapies, a map of buprenorphine/naloxone providers and methadone clinics. Then posed questions for buprenorphine/naloxone care as an office-based treatment to study the clinical space as part of the social whole. Medical anthropology is particularly well-suited to question claims of decreasing stigmatization while increasing access and autonomy, but especially the general claim of improving health.

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