The Dyadic Association Between Patient Overdose Risk and Family Attitudes Toward Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Public Health
• Social Support Systems

Background:

• Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are the standard treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).
• Support persons' (SPs) beliefs about MOUD can impact patient treatment initiation and adherence.
• Understanding SP attitudes is crucial for effective OUD care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between support persons' attitudes toward MOUD and patient overdose risk.
• To investigate the role of SP familiarity with MOUD in patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Dyadic baseline data from 219 patients on buprenorphine treatment and their SPs were analyzed.
• SPs' attitudes and familiarity with MOUD were assessed using a 5-item scale.
• Multiple linear regression models examined the relationship between SP attitudes and patient opioid overdose risk, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• 80% of SPs reported some familiarity with MOUD, associated with lower patient overdose risk.
• SPs believing individuals should stop opioid use without medication were linked to higher patient overdose risk (P=0.048).
• Increased SP familiarity with MOUD and lower patient overdose risk remained significant after covariate adjustment (P=0.028).

Conclusions:

• Promoting SP familiarity with MOUD may enhance patient-SP relationships.
• Decreasing stigmatizing attitudes toward MOUD among SPs could potentially reduce patient overdose risk.
• Interventions targeting SPs can be valuable in OUD treatment.