Anna-Maria South, MD, assistant professor of hospital medicine, was one of eight individuals selected to join the third cohort of the Disparities Researchers Equalizing Access for all comMunities (DREAM) scholars program last year.
The two-year program is a collaborative effort led by the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET), and the UK College of Nursing. Its mission is to promote the career development of exceptional pre-docs, post-docs, and assistant professors across the University of Kentucky who are committed to health disparities research.
Dr. South’s DREAM scholars project focuses on educating patient peer support specialists—individuals with lived experience who assist others in navigating their own recovery journeys—about protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD).
Described simply, her project involves administering a baseline survey to measure specialists’ existing knowledge, followed by the introduction of educational materials developed by Drs. South and Lofwall, as well as Sally Friedman and Rebekah Joab, attorneys from the Legal Action Center. Then assessment surveys evaluate changes in understanding, both immediately after the training and again three months later to track whether they identify or report more instances of discrimination over time.
Dr. South also noted the support from the Bluegrass Survivors Union on this initiative, sharing “their lived experiences and insights shed light on the discrimination faced by individuals on medication for opioid use disorder,” helping inform her research efforts.
The statistics she shared about OUD are harrowing. There are more than 100,000 overdose deaths annually in the United States, with more than 80,000 involving opioids. Overdose is now the leading cause of death among people under 50.
Amidst these grim figures, Dr. South still has hope.
“The students today understand addiction as a chronic medical disease. Many of them have seen its impact firsthand and want to be part of the solution,” shared Dr. South.
Dr. South’s role as a clinician-educator and researcher requires her to wear many hats.
“Research, teaching, and clinical care require different skill sets, and balancing them can sometimes be a challenge,” she admits.
Dr. South’s enthusiasm for teaching students is evident in her role as a preceptor for clinical rotations. She also welcomes medical students interested in addiction medicine to shadow her during her clinical time in the hospital.
Early in her residency at the University of Kentucky, Dr. South developed an interest in addiction medicine. She said the question that lies at the heart of internal medicine— “why?”—shaped her career path. She also credits mentors like Laura Fanucchi, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, and Michelle Lofwall, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, and the Bell Alcohol and Addictions Endowed Chair.
Dr. South recalled treating young patients with endocarditis caused by injection drug use. “I’d often see someone my age in the hospital with a debilitating illness, and the root cause was opioid use disorder,” she said. “And the more I learned about the medications available to treat opioid use disorder and how transformative they were, the more I realized that this was the kind of work I wanted to do.”
Despite the proven efficacy of medications for OUD, stigma and systemic barriers continue to impede access to care. “Many patients are denied medication when they’re incarcerated or turned away from nursing facilities because of their medication or their disease. These practices aren’t just unethical—they’re illegal,” Dr. South emphasizes, referencing protections under the ADA.
“Most clinicians want to do the right thing, but they don’t always know the law or how to best advocate for their patients,” she said.
Last year, alongside Drs. Fanucchi and Lofwall, Dr. South first-authored a viewpoint paper in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” advocating for access to treatment, pointing out that denying patients standard-of-care treatments because they are incarcerated violates ethics, constitutional amendments, and the ADA. The trio also published a clinician primer on the ADA in the “Journal of Opioid Management”.
As part of an academic medicine writing fellowship with Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians (BNGAP), Dr. South developed an interactive workshop to provide third-year medical students with information about caring for incarcerated patients, now a required part of the curriculum for all third-year medical students. She also published her findings on MedEd Portal to support further scholarly activity surrounding destigmatizing OUD.
In 2022, Dr. South was named UK’s Bell Addiction Medicine Scholar, which allowed her to enhance addiction medicine training by developing an interactive lecture series for medical students, residents, and attending physicians that focused on the importance of treating opioid use disorder among hospitalized incarcerated persons and ways to improve addiction treatment in the hospital setting.
Dr. South’s continued dedication to education, advocacy, and research reflects her commitment to addressing the stigma surrounding opioid use disorder. By equipping future clinicians with the tools to provide compassionate, evidence-based care, she is one step closer to transforming the landscape of addiction medicine and improving outcomes for those impacted by OUD.