The matter of mattering in depot buprenorphine treatment

People with opioid use disorder often have limited social support and experience lack of mattering to self and others, which can have detrimental effects on their health and well-being. Drawing on a qualitative study of opioid agonist treatment with long-acting injectable buprenorphine combined with social and health related interventions in a Danish clinic, we investigate patients' experiences of how treatment influences changes in mattering to self and others and re-establishment of social relations. Analysis of 39 interviews with patients show that long-acting injectable buprenorphine treatment not only provided most patients increased stability and improved physical well-being but also enhanced mental energy to engage with other activities and significant others. By analysing along two themes, changes in mattering to children and changes in mattering to other relatives and friends, we show that the journey to re-establishing relations of mattering is often difficult and sorrowful, yet crucial to improving patient wellbeing and supporting the recovery process. We argue that the concept of mattering with its emphasis on both being valued by others and adding value to others, clarifies complexities of patient recovery. We argue that the attention to variations and complexity in the journey to (re)establish relations of mattering helps explain differences in how patients navigate recovery from opioid use disorder, and that the integration of medical, social and health related interventions is important to sustaining the multiplier effects of mattering on patients' social functioning, capabilities and well-being.