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. 2017 Mar 23:11:1178221816685087.
doi: 10.1177/1178221816685087. eCollection 2017.

"Don't Judge a Book Its Cover": A Qualitative Study of Methadone Patients' Experiences of Stigma

Julia Woo  1 , Anuja Bhalerao  1 , Monica Bawor  2 , Meha Bhatt  3 , Brittany Dennis  2 , Natalia Mouravska  4 , Laura Zielinski  5 , Zainab Samaan  2   3   4   6
Affiliations

"Don't Judge a Book Its Cover": A Qualitative Study of Methadone Patients' Experiences of Stigma

Julia Woo et al. Subst Abuse. .

Abstract

Introduction: Despite its efficacy and widespread use, methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) continues to be widely stigmatized. Reducing the stigma surrounding MMT will help improve the accessibility, retention, and treatment outcomes in MMT.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 adults undergoing MMT. Thematic content analysis was used to identify overarching themes.

Results: In total, 78% of participants reported having experienced stigma surrounding MMT. Common stereotypes associated with MMT patients included the following: methadone as a way to get high, incompetence, untrustworthiness, lack of willpower, and heroin junkies. Participants reported that stigma resulted in lower self-esteem; relationship conflicts; reluctance to initiate, access, or continue MMT; and distrust toward the health care system. Public awareness campaigns, education of health care workers, family therapy, and community meetings were cited as potential stigma-reduction strategies.

Discussion and conclusion: Stigma is a widespread and serious issue that adversely affects MMT patients' quality of life and treatment. More efforts are needed to combat MMT-related stigma.

Keywords: methadone maintenance treatment; opioid use disorder; stigma; substance abuse.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTERESTS: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Disclosure and Ethics The authors have read and are in agreement with the ICMJE authorship and conflict of interest criteria. The authors also confirm that this article is unique and not under consideration or published in any other publication and that they have permission from rights holders to reproduce any copyrighted material.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportions of participants who reported experiencing or being affected by stigma surrounding methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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