Vision Session
Susan Kansagra, MD, MPH
Opioid Lead and Chief, Chronic Disease and Injuries Section
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
R. Craig Lefebvre, PhD
Lead Change Designer, International Center for Communication Science
RTI
Kevin Roy, MBA
Chief Public Policy Officer
Shatterproof
This session will present and discuss a national survey of 997 US adults by RTI International on knowledge and opinions about addiction to prescription opioids, medication-assisted therapy (MAT), and stigma towards people addicted to prescription opioids and the healthcare providers who care for them. Some of the data that will be presented and discussed include:
• 79% said that people of any race/ethnicity, income level or geographic area can become addicted to opioids
• 60% had not heard of MAT prior to taking the survey
• 50% agreed that employers should be allowed to deny employment to a person addicted to prescription opioids
• 33% agreed that landlords should be allowed to deny housing to a person addicted to prescription opioids
• 34% said that they would feel uncomfortable seeing their doctor if they found out he or she treated patients who are addicted to opioids
• 33% said they would not want to see a doctor if they treat patients who are addicted to opioids
• 36% agreed or strongly agreed that a doctor should be allowed to refuse or stop seeing patients if they are addicted to prescription opioids
• People perceive that many different treatments are “somewhat” or “very effective” for addiction to opioids: individual or group therapy programs (81%); treatment for emotional problems such as anxiety or depression (78%); 30-day residential treatment programs (75%); and “medicines that work in the brain to prevent opioid cravings”(71%)
The session will include current approaches to conceptualizing stigma, their application to the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), and the survey’s research questions. Three discussants will provide reactions and implications of the data.
Sponsor: RTI