TY - JOUR
KW - Adult
KW - Analgesics, Opioid/therapeutic use
KW - Awareness
KW - Buprenorphine/therapeutic use
KW - Comprehension
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Drug Users/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Health Care Surveys
KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
KW - Health Services Accessibility
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Needle-Exchange Programs
KW - New York City
KW - Opiate Substitution Treatment
KW - Opioid-Related Disorders/psychology/rehabilitation
KW - Patient Acceptance of Health Care
KW - Patient Education as Topic
KW - Substance Abuse, Intravenous/psychology/rehabilitation
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Urban Health Services
AU - P. A. Shah
AU - N. L. Sohler
AU - C. Lopez
AU - A. D. Fox
AU - C. O. Cunningham
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVE: To examine awareness of, experience with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine, to begin to understand why opioid users may not access buprenorphine treatment. Factors associated with attitudes toward buprenorphine were also explored. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A community-based organization's syringe exchange program in mobile units at nine street-side outreach sites in New York City. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred eighty-six adult opioid users visiting a syringe exchange program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Awareness of, experiences with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine. RESULTS: Most (68.5 percent) participants were aware of buprenorphine, 27.8 percent had taken buprenorphine, and 58.6 percent knew someone who had taken buprenorphine. Of the 98 who had taken or knew someone who had taken buprenorphine, 85.7 percent endorsed positive attitudinal statements about its effectiveness, and up to 31.6 percent endorsed statements about its limited access. Participants' attitudes about the need for formal buprenorphine treatment were mixed. Current heroin users were more likely than nonusers to have heard of buprenorphine (76.0 percent vs 61.5 percent, p < 0.05), have taken buprenorphine (46.8 percent vs 9.6 percent, p < 0.01), endorse buprenorphine's effectiveness (96.3 percent vs 72.7 percent, p < 0.01), and believe that illicit and prescribed buprenorphine have similar benefits (35.2 percent vs 13.6 percent, p < 0.02) CONCLUSIONS: Most opioid users visiting a syringe exchange program had positive attitudes about buprenorphine's effectiveness, and few believed that buprenorphine was difficult to access. Attitudes about the benefits of illicit versus prescribed buprenorphine use were inconsistent. Understanding awareness of, experience with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine is important, as these factors are likely to influence opioid users' decisions about engaging in buprenorphine treatment.
BT - Journal of opioid management
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use
CP - 6
CY - United States
DO - 10.5055/jom.2013.0183
IS - 6
JF - Journal of opioid management
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To examine awareness of, experience with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine, to begin to understand why opioid users may not access buprenorphine treatment. Factors associated with attitudes toward buprenorphine were also explored. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A community-based organization's syringe exchange program in mobile units at nine street-side outreach sites in New York City. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred eighty-six adult opioid users visiting a syringe exchange program. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Awareness of, experiences with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine. RESULTS: Most (68.5 percent) participants were aware of buprenorphine, 27.8 percent had taken buprenorphine, and 58.6 percent knew someone who had taken buprenorphine. Of the 98 who had taken or knew someone who had taken buprenorphine, 85.7 percent endorsed positive attitudinal statements about its effectiveness, and up to 31.6 percent endorsed statements about its limited access. Participants' attitudes about the need for formal buprenorphine treatment were mixed. Current heroin users were more likely than nonusers to have heard of buprenorphine (76.0 percent vs 61.5 percent, p < 0.05), have taken buprenorphine (46.8 percent vs 9.6 percent, p < 0.01), endorse buprenorphine's effectiveness (96.3 percent vs 72.7 percent, p < 0.01), and believe that illicit and prescribed buprenorphine have similar benefits (35.2 percent vs 13.6 percent, p < 0.02) CONCLUSIONS: Most opioid users visiting a syringe exchange program had positive attitudes about buprenorphine's effectiveness, and few believed that buprenorphine was difficult to access. Attitudes about the benefits of illicit versus prescribed buprenorphine use were inconsistent. Understanding awareness of, experience with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine is important, as these factors are likely to influence opioid users' decisions about engaging in buprenorphine treatment.
PP - United States
PY - 2013
SN - 1551-7489; 1551-7489
SP - 407
EP - 413
EP - 
T1 - Awareness of, experience with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine among opioid users visiting a New York City syringe exchange program
T2 - Journal of opioid management
TI - Awareness of, experience with, and attitudes toward buprenorphine among opioid users visiting a New York City syringe exchange program
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use
U2 - 24481929
U3 - 10.5055/jom.2013.0183
VL - 9
VO - 1551-7489; 1551-7489
Y1 - 2013
ER -