In North America, the recent increase in opioid-related deaths has highlighted a need to consult people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) on how to improve treatments, namely in terms of service access and patient retention. The aim of this study is to explore experiential perspectives on how to improve accessibility and retention in OUD treatments. Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 27 people with former or current OUD, from treatment programs and community organizations located in Montreal, Canada. A thematic analysis was carried out based on Paill e and Mucchielli'sprocedure, and yielded the following main themes: outreach, flexibility, treatment opportunities, quality of life, comprehensive services, relationship with caregivers and autonomy. These findings provide interesting avenues for policy makers, program administrators and healthcare workers, and may help improving treatment access and retention.
Implementation Facilitators and Barriers to the Expansion of a Peer-led Overdose Prevention ProgramIn Canada, there has been a substantial increase of opioid overdoses in recent years.PROFAN, a peer-led overdose prevention initiative, was successfully implemented in Montreal, Quebec, for people who use drugs (PWUD), or those likely to witness overdoses. The worsening of the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic sparked the need to expand the program across the province. Individual interviews were conducted with 17 key informants from 12 health regions to identify implementation facilitators and barriers. A thematic analysis was conducted based on emerging themes. Four main facilitators were reported: 1) presence of an active peer network involved with harm reduction in the region, 2) collaboration among community and public health sectors, 3) stakeholders' awareness of opioid situation, and 4) perceived appropriateness of training.Six main barriers also emerged: 1) geographical isolation, 2) existing offer of similar services, 3) difficulty reaching isolated PWUD, 4) stigmatization of PWUD, 5) unwillingness of stakeholders to address situation, and 6) lack of funding stability. The expansion achieved by the PROFAN program highlights the ability of a peer-driven community organization to lead an overdose prevention program when provided with funding and support from government health agencies and partnerships with other organizations such as addiction worker associations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.