Prescriber Attitudes, Beliefs, Stigma, and Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder

"A study in Canada found that personal beliefs of NPs often pose a barrier to providing treatment, for example, views such as patients with OUD deserve less care than other patients [12], this was also reported as a barrier in the study by Spetz and colleagues [31]. Participants on the study acknowledged that some prescribers would avoid prescribing methadone for personal reasons [12]. NPs also discussed that public stigma remains a significant barrier, one stating that “there’s stigma of just going every day to the pharmacy and being there, exposed, people staring at you…” Another NP reflected that stigma may be addressed by educating prescribers and increasing their experience of working with people with OUD. It was also reported that patient’s willingness and lack of education regarding MOUD presented as a barrier to practice [33]. Elliot and colleagues [27] conducted a quasi-experimental study in which five NP doctoral students attended lectures and 16 h of direct clinical experience with OUD patients. Students reported positive attitude changes and personal reflections which suggest that such educational experiences can be beneficial for developing more confident, skilled and compassionate NPs to address the opioid crisis."

Source

Banka-Cullen, S.P., Comiskey, C., Kelly, P. et al. Nurse prescribing practices across the globe for medication-assisted treatment of the opioid use disorder (MOUD): a scoping review. Harm Reduct J 20, 78 (2023). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00812-y