Psychometric evaluation of a person-centered opioid and opioid problems perception questionnaire (PC-OOPPQ)

Background: People with opioid use and opioid use-related problems are highly stigmatized groups. Negative attitudes and perceptions held by healthcare providers and the stigma that results are key barriers to treatment entry and treatment provision. A contemporary measure for assessing the attitudes and perceptions of healthcare providers toward this population is needed.Objective: The current study aims to examine the psychometric properties of an adapted person-centered opioid and opioid problems perception questionnaire (PC-OOPPQ).Methods: The adapted PC-OOPPQ psychometric properties were assessed using a nationwide online sample of practicing nurses (N = 493, 460 were female nurses). The sample was randomly divided to perform exploratory (EFA; n = 247) and confirmatory (CFA; n = 246) factor analyses.Results: Using the principal axis factoring (PAF) with orthogonal (Varimax) rotation, the EFA indicated a 19-item four-factor structure (without item # 16), which explained 70.2% of the total variance. Meanwhile, the CFA recommended an 18-item five-factor structure (without items # 14 and 16) that had the best model fit (Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .938, the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = .924, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = .055, and Root Mean Square Approximation (RMSEA) = .088)).Conclusions: Apart from one item (item # 16), the proposed five-factor structure is consistent with the person-centered drug and drug problems perception questionnaire factor structure. The current study aims to address stigma associated with opioid use among healthcare professionals using language.