Different forms of stigma and rural primary care professionals' willingness to prescribe buprenorphine

Buprenorphine and other medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are highly effective but substantially under prescribed in the rural United States. Among the most cited barriers to buprenorphine prescribing is stigma, yet little progress has been made in developing successful strategies to reduce stigma and increase access to life-saving medication. One of the key challenges to developing successful implementation strategies is understanding the different types of stigma that limit implementation.

This study draws from qualitative interviews with 23 primary care professionals (PCPs) in rural Ohio. We conducted semi-structured interviews focused on prior experiences with buprenorphine, willingness to prescribe it, prior buprenorphine training, and barriers to prescribing. Thematic analysis resulted in 3 forms of stigma that must be addressed to improve implementation.

PCPs discussed 3 key forms of stigma that limit buprenorphine prescribing in rural areas: 1) stigma towards patients-PCPs feared being harmed by patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) if they began prescribing buprenorphine; 2) stigma towards providers-PCPs believed their clinics would be stigmatized if they began treating addiction; and 3) stigma towards buprenorphine-PCPs worried they might unintentionally harm patients through prescribing a partial opioid agonist.

Stigma remains a critical barrier to buprenorphine prescribing among rural PCPs but is not limited to negative attitudes towards people with OUD. Buprenorphine is also stigmatized and PCPs fear becoming stigmatized if they prescribe the medication. Implementation research is urgently needed to test whether multicomponent stigma-reduction strategies increase access to buprenorphine in rural communities.