TY - JOUR
T1 - The relationship between treatment accessibility and preference amongst out-of-treatment individuals who engage in non-medical prescription opioid use
AU - Huhn, Andrew S.
AU - Tompkins, D. Andrew
AU - Dunn, Kelly E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The work described in this manuscript was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse: NIDA R21 DA035327 (Dunn) and K23 DA029603 (Tompkins).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2017/11/1
Y1 - 2017/11/1
N2 - Background Relatively little is known regarding the perception of medication-assisted treatments (MATs) and other treatment options amongst individuals that engage in non-medical prescription opioid use. This study surveyed out-of-treatment individuals that misuse opioids to better understand how perceived access to treatment shapes treatment preference. Methods Participants (n = 357) were out-of-treatment adults registered as workers on the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform who reported current non-medical prescription opioid use. Participants were surveyed regarding demographics, insurance status, attitudes toward opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments, and self-reported symptoms of OUD. Results Participants who were male, did not have health insurance, and knew that counseling-type services were locally available were most likely to first attempt counseling/detox treatments (χ2(6) = 30.19, p < 0.001). Participants who met criteria for severe OUD, used heroin in the last 30 days, knew their insurance covered MAT, and knew of locally available MAT providers were most likely to first attempt MAT (χ2(4) = 26.85, p < 0.001). Participants with insurance and who knew of locally available physicians were most likely to attempt physician visits without the expressed purpose of MAT (χ2(3) = 24.75, p < 0.001). Conclusion Out-of-treatment opioid users were particularly interested in counseling-based services and medical care that could be attained from a primary-care physician. Results suggest that insurance coverage and perceived access to OUD treatment modalities influences where out-of-treatment opioid users might first seek treatment; understanding the factors that shape treatment preference is critical in designing early interventions to effectively reach this population.
AB - Background Relatively little is known regarding the perception of medication-assisted treatments (MATs) and other treatment options amongst individuals that engage in non-medical prescription opioid use. This study surveyed out-of-treatment individuals that misuse opioids to better understand how perceived access to treatment shapes treatment preference. Methods Participants (n = 357) were out-of-treatment adults registered as workers on the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform who reported current non-medical prescription opioid use. Participants were surveyed regarding demographics, insurance status, attitudes toward opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments, and self-reported symptoms of OUD. Results Participants who were male, did not have health insurance, and knew that counseling-type services were locally available were most likely to first attempt counseling/detox treatments (χ2(6) = 30.19, p < 0.001). Participants who met criteria for severe OUD, used heroin in the last 30 days, knew their insurance covered MAT, and knew of locally available MAT providers were most likely to first attempt MAT (χ2(4) = 26.85, p < 0.001). Participants with insurance and who knew of locally available physicians were most likely to attempt physician visits without the expressed purpose of MAT (χ2(3) = 24.75, p < 0.001). Conclusion Out-of-treatment opioid users were particularly interested in counseling-based services and medical care that could be attained from a primary-care physician. Results suggest that insurance coverage and perceived access to OUD treatment modalities influences where out-of-treatment opioid users might first seek treatment; understanding the factors that shape treatment preference is critical in designing early interventions to effectively reach this population.
KW - Insurance
KW - Medication-assisted treatment (MAT)
KW - Opioid use disorder (OUD)
KW - Prescription opioid
KW - Treatment accessibility
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85031945320&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85031945320&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.08.019
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.08.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 28942031
AN - SCOPUS:85031945320
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 180
SP - 279
EP - 285
JO - Drug and alcohol dependence
JF - Drug and alcohol dependence
ER -