scholarly journals Stigma of Opioid Use Disorder and Its Indirect Effects on Student Pharmacists’ Perceptions and Attitudes

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Hall ◽  
Alina Cernasev ◽  
Umida Nasritdinova ◽  
Michael P. Veve ◽  
Kenneth C. Hohmeier

Objectives: Pharmacists play a vital role in serving patients during the ongoing nationwide opioid epidemic, and so it is also critical to educate the next generation of pharmacists on opioids and opioid use disorder (OUD). The primary objective of this study was to quantitatively characterize student perceptions of opioid use and the stigma associated with OUD. Secondary aims were to determine whether differences in perceptions exist based upon the student’s year in the Doctor of Pharmacy program or employment in a community pharmacy. Methods: First-, second-, third-, and fourth-year student pharmacists voluntarily completed an electronic survey regarding perceptions of opioid use and stigma associated with OUD. Results: Of the 9 survey items, students were most uncomfortable referring patients to community resources for addiction support and/or treatment (25.3% comfortable or very comfortable). Students working in a community pharmacy were significantly more comfortable talking to patients attempting to refill opioids early and providing opioid counseling as compared to their peers not working in community pharmacy. Fourth-year students reported a higher level of comfort talking to a patient attempting to refill an opioid prescription early, counseling a patient on an opioid prescription, and providing information about alternatives to opioids. Third-year students responded most favorably to the items regarding how well the curriculum has prepared them to interact with patients taking opioids and those with OUD. Conclusions: These findings reveal that students are comfortable counseling on opioids and discussing alternative options. Differences in perceptions were observed based upon the student’s year in the program and whether or not they were employed in a community pharmacy setting.

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 205
Author(s):  
Alina Cernasev ◽  
Michael P. Veve ◽  
Taylor Talbott ◽  
Elizabeth A. Hall ◽  
Kenneth C. Hohmeier

Pharmacists represent a key group of healthcare professionals that can increase awareness and destigmatize naloxone use. The objective of this study was to investigate pharmacy student perceptions of the use, dispensing, and stigma surrounding naloxone. An electronic survey was administered to pharmacy students that included questions about demographics, work history, naloxone use, and naloxone stigma. Separate qualitative interviews were performed to identify themes surrounding naloxone use. Two-hundred sixty-two participants completed the survey. The majority of participants were “highly willing” (74%) to fill a naloxone prescription for a patient and “somewhat comfortable” (38%) in counseling on naloxone; most were “somewhat comfortable” (38%) administering naloxone. Naloxone is “very rarely” (87%) recommended in community workplace settings, and the majority (64%) reported that patients never request information about naloxone availability. Seventy-six percent of respondents reported that naloxone-associated interactions have an influence on the way they communicate with patients in community pharmacy settings. Thematic analyses found that pharmacy students identify the importance of naloxone as a life-saving medication and the need for naloxone training, but patient-perceived stigma and limited access to naloxone remain prevalent. Pharmacy students are generally well-versed and inclined toward distributing, counseling on, and administering naloxone. Naloxone is rarely dispensed and patient conversations involving naloxone are infrequent in community settings. Future efforts focused on approaches toward difficult patient conversations and normalization of naloxone are needed to destigmatize and facilitate use.


Addiction ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott E. Hadland ◽  
Sarah M. Bagley ◽  
Mam Jarra Gai ◽  
Joel J. Earlywine ◽  
Samantha F. Schoenberger ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Furst ◽  
Nicholas J. Mynarski ◽  
Kenneth L. McCall ◽  
Brian J. Piper

AbstractObjectiveMethadone is an evidence based treatment for opioid use disorder and is also employed for acute pain. The primary objective of this study was to explore methadone distribution patterns between the years 2017 and 2019 across the United States (US). This study builds upon previous literature that has analyzed prior years of US distribution patterns, and further outlines regional and state specific methadone trends.MethodsThe Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System (ARCOS) was used to acquire the number of narcotic treatment programs (NTPs) per state and methadone distribution weight in grams. Methadone distribution by weight, corrected for state populations, and number of NTPs were compared from 2017 to 2019 between states, within regions, and nationally.ResultsBetween 2017 and 2019, the national distribution of methadone increased 12.30% for NTPs but decreased 34.57% for pain, for a total increase of 2.66%. While all states saw a decrease in distribution for pain, when compared regionally, the Northeast showed a significantly smaller decrease than all other regions. Additionally, the majority of states experienced an increase in distribution for NTPs and most states demonstrated a relatively stable or increasing number of NTPs, with an 11.49% increase in NTPs nationally. The number of NTPs per 100K in 2019 ranged from 2.08 in Rhode Island to 0.00 in Wyoming.ConclusionAlthough methadone distribution for OUD was increasing in the US, there were pronounced regional disparities.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geetika Reichmann ◽  
Anna Beth Parlier-Ahmad ◽  
Lori Beck ◽  
Bhushan Thakkar ◽  
Meryl Alappattu ◽  
...  

Introduction: Chronic pain brings complexity to opioid use disorder (OUD). Psychosocial and neurobiological risks for Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) and OUD overlap. The primary objective of this exploratory study is to compare sex-specific prevalence of CPP and sexual dysfunction between individuals receiving buprenorphine for OUD and a comparison group receiving treatment for other chronic medical conditions (CMC).Methods: Participants from an OUD treatment (n = 154) and primary care clinic (n = 109) completed a survey between July 2019 and February 2020 assessing reproductive and sexual health. Sex-stratified CPP and pain interference measures were adapted from the Brief Pain Inventory for females, and for males, the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory and NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index. The Male and Female Sexual Function Index assessed sexual dysfunction. Prevalence of CPP and sexual dysfunction between groups were compared using Pearson χ2 and Fisher's Exact tests.Results: Participants were 54.4% female and 75.0% Black with almost half having a psychiatric diagnosis. Among OUD females, the highest pain severity reported was for menstrual-related pain, and for OUD males, testicular pain. CPP most interfered with mood in OUD females vs. sleep and enjoyment of life in OUD males. There were no differences in prevalence for global sexual dysfunction with 91.6% of females and 84.2% of males screening positive across groups.Discussion/Implications: CPP and sexual dysfunction are important components of wellness and may play a role in OUD recovery trajectories. The value of addressing CPP and sexual dysfunction in tailored comprehensive, sex-informed OUD treatment approaches should be further investigated.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e025059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitika Sanger ◽  
Hamnah Shahid ◽  
Brittany B Dennis ◽  
Jackie Hudson ◽  
David Marsh ◽  
...  

IntroductionIllicit opioid use has become a national crisis in Canada, with over 65 000 people seeking treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in Ontario and British Columbia alone. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a common treatment for OUD. There is substantial variability in treatment outcomes used to evaluate effectiveness of MAT, making it difficult to establish clinically and scientifically relevant treatment effect. Furthermore, patients are often excluded from the process of determining these outcomes. The primary objective of this review is to examine outcomes currently used to measure MAT effectiveness and to identify patient-relevant outcomes to enhance effectiveness of treatment options. This review refers to patient-important outcomes as those outcomes patients consider important to or markers of treatment success.Methods and analysisMEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Cochrane Clinical Trials Registry, National Institutes for Health Clinical Trials Registry and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases will be searched. We will search databases from inception to the date the search is ran. Studies of interest include those evaluating the effectiveness of MAT for patients with OUD, with or without consultation with patients regarding what they consider to be important as an indicator of treatment success. Results will be analysed using thematic analysis and qualitative analysis where possible. This will result in comprehensive synthesis of all outcomes and measures found related to OUD treatment effectiveness.Ethics and disseminationWe are collaborating with Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres which provide MAT to patients with OUD who will participate in disseminating study results. Dissemination strategies will involve sharing study results through workshops, presentations, peer-reviewed publications, study reports, community presentations and resources in primary care settings.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018095553.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan O. Smith ◽  
Scott S. Malinowski ◽  
Jordan M. Ballou

Abstract Introduction Naloxone has become an important component of preventing deaths from opioid overdose. Although studies have confirmed its cost-effectiveness, naloxone is rarely prescribed proactively in case of accidental overdose. The perception still exists that a reversal agent may enable patients with opioid use disorder to continue abusing opioids without fear of death from overdose. This study was designed to determine the general public's knowledge of naloxone and their perceptions about receiving a naloxone prescription with opioid use. Methods Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), where a link directed participants to an electronic survey. Participants were included if they were 18 years of age or greater and currently living in the United States. Participants were paid $0.10 USD via Amazon MTurk upon completing the survey. Results Four hundred five participants successfully completed the survey, and 61% were aware that there is a medication available to treat opioid overdose. The majority of participants responded positively to the idea of acquiring naloxone. Responses were evenly split for agreeing and disagreeing with the statement “naloxone is only necessary for people who abuse opioids.” Although 51% of respondents believed that having naloxone available enables people who abuse opioids, 88% agreed that naloxone is beneficial for people who accidentally overdose on opioids. A majority believed that naloxone should be made available upon request to anyone concerned about opioid overdose. Discussion Participants were generally aware of the availability of an opioid reversal agent and responded positively to 3 different methods of acquiring naloxone through their prescriber or pharmacist.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya Kashyap ◽  
Chris Callison-Burch ◽  
Mary Regina Boland

Objective: As the opioid epidemic continues across the United States, methods are needed to accurately and quickly identify patients at risk for opioid use disorder (OUD). The purpose of this study is to develop two predictive algorithms: one to predict opioid prescription and one to predict OUD. Materials and Methods: We developed an informatics algorithm that trains two deep learning models over patient EHRs using the MIMIC-III database. We utilize both the structured and unstructured parts of the EHR and show that it is possible to predict both of these challenging outcomes. Results: Our deep learning models incorporate both structured and unstructured data elements from the EHRs to predict opioid prescription with an F1-score of 0.88 +/- 0.003 and an AUC-ROC of 0.93 +/- 0.002. We also constructed a model to predict OUD diagnosis achieving an F1-score of 0.82 +/- 0.05 and AUC-ROC of 0.94 +/- 0.008. Discussion: Our model for OUD prediction outperformed prior algorithms for specificity, F1 score and AUC-ROC while achieving equivalent sensitivity. This demonstrates the importance of a.) deep learning approaches in predicting OUD and b.) incorporating both structured and unstructured data for this prediction task. No prediction models for opioid prescription as an outcome were found in the literature and therefore this represents an important contribution of our work as opioid prescriptions are more common than OUDs. Conclusion: Algorithms such as those described in this paper will become increasingly important to understand the drivers underlying this national epidemic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 307-316
Author(s):  
Troy A. Moore

Abstract Ambulatory detoxification in alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder is an important component in the management of patients experiencing withdrawal symptoms from alcohol or opioids. The goal of withdrawal management is ultimately to provide each patient with comfort and safety. Having the knowledge of the possible signs and symptoms of intoxication and withdrawal assists providers to institute the most appropriate treatment protocol and setting for the patient. Pharmacists play a vital role in choosing appropriate therapeutic management options for common or complex clinical situations involving ambulatory detoxification from alcohol and opioids. Ambulatory detoxification serves as an appealing option to many patients and helps save the limited inpatient resources that many institutions have for those patients with more severe withdrawal presentations.


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