KCU medical students author resolution to expand treatment for opioid use disorders during pregnancy

A Kansas City University (KCU) osteopathic medicine student is making big strides toward fulfilling KCU’s vision and changing health care for good along the way.

Advocacy work is not only something she feels passionate about, it’s a calling for third-year medical student Ellie Nu Bui. Her involvement as an active member of the Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA) gives her a platform to advocate for issues close to her heart. Among those issues is one that shaped her as a young girl living in Vietnam with her family: maternal and child health. For her, the issue is personal.

“I remember my mother’s near-death experience during her pregnancy with my younger brother,” Nu Bui described. “We could not afford adequate prenatal and labor care for her. Years later, this became my motivation to ensure accessible quality health care for all.”

So, when the opportunity to present a resolution on behalf of MSMA presented itself, Nu Bui jumped into action. She found peers at KCU who also wanted to impact change and shine a light on the growing need for accessible prenatal care.

To prepare to testify before the MSMA Reference Committee during the organization’s 2024 Annual Convention, the group focused their resolution on the expansion of treatment for opioid use disorders during pregnancy. “Vikita Patel, Alexis Pheng, Feng Ming Li, Reeya Patel, and I were able to come together to write a resolution on the topic of opioid use disorders during pregnancy to advocate for more equitable access to comprehensive prenatal care and substance use treatment services,” she explained

The group discovered many barriers that pregnant women with opioid use disorders face, including lack of education, mistrust of physicians and legal constraints. “Our research highlighted the disparity in access to opioid treatment programs, which are predominantly in urban areas, and the reluctance among health care providers to prescribe evidence-based treatment, such as buprenorphine, due to inadequate knowledge,” Nu Bui said.

KCU’s Assistant Professor of Primary Care Benjamin Grin, MD, MPH, voices similar concerns. He cites that the opioid use disorder epidemic has affected urban and rural areas across the state of Missouri, including the cities of Kansas City and Joplin. “Opioid use disorder has a significant impact on pregnant women and women of childbearing age in the state,” said Dr. Grin. “According to a recent statewide report, there were 3,599 opioid overdose deaths between 2018 and 2020 in Missouri, and women of childbearing age represented 29 percent of those deaths.”

Nu Bui and her fellow classmates who helped author the resolution, recently learned that it was passed by the MSMA House of Delegates, which she says represents a significant step toward ensuring pregnant women and their unborn children receive the comprehensive care and support they need. “We are addressing a critical public health issue with compassion and evidence-based solutions,” Nu Bui proclaimed. “Seeing the medical community come together to support this cause reaffirms my belief in the power of collaborative advocacy to bring about meaningful change. My drive to advocate for this community continues to grow as I learn about the challenges and barriers they experience,” she added.

“I am so proud of our KCU medical students for leading this critically important work. This is a public health emergency in the U.S.,” said Dr. Grin. “This resolution will help train more doctors to provide these needed treatments and reduce stigma toward pregnant people with opioid use disorders, so that more patients can get the care they need and deserve.”