Prolonged-release opioid agonist therapy: qualitative study exploring patients’ views of 1-week, 1-month, and 6-month buprenorphine formulations

Original research
par
Neale, Joanne, Charlotte N.E. Tompkins & John Strang

Date de publication

2019

Géographie

UK

Langue de la ressource

English

Texte disponible en version intégrale

Oui

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Oui

Évalué par des pairs

Yes

L’objectif

To understand which durations of prolonged-release buprenorphine patients prefer

Constatations/points à retenir

Participants generally stated that having buprenorphine of different prolonged durations was positive. They tended to believe that ‘longer’ prolonged-release formulations would be beneficial for patients who wanted to avoid thinking about drugs and drug-using associates, wished to evade the stigma of substance use, and desired ‘normality’ and ‘recovery.’ In contrast, participants favored ‘shorter’ prolonged-release formulations for patients who are new to OAT, worried about the safety and reliability/effectiveness of OAT, want a ‘break’ from street opioids, and need contact with services to monitor/support them. Participants indicated that transitioning between OAT medications of different duration would be a very individual process. Some also linked prolonged-release OAT duration to political, philosophical, and ethical issues, such as patient coercion and mental capability.

La conception ou méthodologie de recherche

n=36 Qualitative interview study

Mots clés

Evidence base
Wrap-around services
Safer supply
Social services
Barriers and enablers
Crime
Substitution/OAT
Social benefits
Stigma