Reprint- Medication Assisted Treatment: Examining Enrollment and Demographic Factors of Treatment

Abstract

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) has been a long-standing epidemic concern related to the continuous growth of variations of the substance and its’ potency. Due to the versatility of the substance to be both an illicit drug and also a prescription medication, the interest in controlling and monitoring its’ use creates a greater public health concern. Treatment overtime has been revitalized to directly address the social, biological, and physiological difficulties of patients with OUDs. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) has been explored and has become one of the most widely used plans for treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) related to pain management issues, dependency, withdrawal, and likelihood of maintaining sobriety. The use of MAT has been proven to be a positive and worthwhile addition to the treatment of OUDs. However, there are gaps in the administration and enrollment of individuals into the programs and facilities that offer MAT services. As this deficit is acknowledged, the current study was posed to examine the relationships among demographic factors relative to OUDs and MAT services. Data from a sample of 973 adults with a diagnosis of OUD relative to all opioid related substances, was analyzed in this study. Relationships among gender, race, employment, education, and types of treatment were explored. Types of treatment included Suboxone and Vivitrol. Overall, this study found that Suboxone treatment was administered more often than Vivitrol treatment. Also, outpatient service members used MAT services more often than inpatient members. Chi-square analyses and an Analysis of Variance were both utilized, indicating gender differences and educational differences. Likewise, specific race differences and employment attainment computed no significant conclusions. Contributions to the findings, limitations of the exploration, and future research directions are all discussed.