Abstract
There is a need for creative, public health-oriented solutions to the increasingly intractable problems associated with the North American opioid epidemic. This epidemic is a fundamentally continental problem, as routes of migration, drug demand, and drug exchange link the USA with Mexico and Canada. The challenges faced throughout North America include entrenched prescribing practices of opioid medications, high costs and low availability of medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and policy approaches that present substantial barriers to care.We advocate for the scale up of a low-threshold treatment model for MAT that incorporates the best practices in addiction treatment. Such a model would remove barriers to care through widespread treatment availability and affordability and also a policy of decriminalization. Given that MAT reduces the frequency of drug injecting among opioid injectors, this treatment model should also be guided by an understanding of the socially communicable nature of injection drug use, such that increasing MAT availability may also prevent the spread of injecting practices to individuals at risk of transitions from non-injection to injection drug use. To that end, the “Treatment as Prevention” model employed to respond to the individual- and population-level risks for HIV/AIDS prevention could be adapted to efforts to halt the North American opioid epidemic.
Highlights
North America is in the midst of a massive opioid misuse epidemic
In the USA, over 2.4 million people meet the criteria for severe opioid use disorder (OUD) involving dependence on opioid analgesic medications, heroin, or both [1]
We review current challenges in responding to opioid misuse, describe barriers to the treatment of OUD through medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and explore public health-oriented policy and interventional options to effectively respond to OUD in North America
Summary
North America is in the midst of a massive opioid misuse epidemic. In the USA, over 2.4 million people meet the criteria for severe opioid use disorder (OUD) involving dependence on opioid analgesic medications, heroin, or both [1]. We review current challenges in responding to opioid misuse, describe barriers to the treatment of OUD through MAT, and explore public health-oriented policy and interventional options to effectively respond to OUD in North America.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.