MONTREAL, CANADA– Prenatal cannabis, opioid, and alcohol use is a fast-growing global issue that can have lasting negative effects on fetal and maternal health. In addition, substance use disorders among women, their families, and their children are often left unaddressed, and women who use substances face greater stigmatization globally.
This June 16 in Montreal, leading researchers in the field will meet to address these issues and set the stage for the next decade of gender and substance use research at the 10th Annual International Women's and Children's Health and Gender Group Conference.
The conference attracts attendees from all over the world, this year with representation from more than 20 countries. RTI International is cosponsoring the conference along with Indivior, NIDA, and other donors.
"We are so pleased to host the conference again for the 10th anniversary of the InWomen's Group and to have diverse speakers and attendees from over 20 countries to address these critical issues affecting women and their families," said Wendee Wechsberg, PhD, Conference Chair, and Director of RTI's Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research Program, "The group was founded 10 years ago to examine the consequences of substance use through a culturally-relevant and gender lens"
Conference sessions on prenatal alcohol and cannabis use will focus on the current state of the evidence and the social and physical problems it causes for children. Sessions on substance use disorders will focus on interventions for parents in treatment programs, Canada's opioid problem, and risks among female sex workers.
The conference will also feature a welcome from the President of Emory University, Dr. Claire Sterk, and poetry sharing by special guest Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, a poster session on research conducted in over 20 countries, and topical discussion tables.
"RTI is highly committed to global gender issues, and has implemented and evaluated more than 600 projects with gender-specific activities in over 75 countries throughout the world in the past decade," Dr. Wechsberg stated, who is also the Founding Director of the RTI Global Gender Center.
For more information about the InWomen's Conference, visit the event site. Onsite registration for the InWomen's Conference is available at the Hotel Bonaventure on June 16.
In October 2018, the RTI Global Gender Center will host the second bi-annual conference, Ending Gender Inequalities Conference, in South Africa. Sign up to receive more information, and follow the conversation on Twitter using #RTIGender18.
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https://www.rti.org/news/researchers-address-prenatal-cannabis-and-alcohol-use-and-substance-use-disorders-10th-annual
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Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag
