Opioid Use and Treatment Availability

Link	View Research Recap
Date	01/2018
Description	This resource examines opioid use in rural communities, as well as the perceived need for and utilization of treatment for opioid use disorder, based on a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers' most recent research.
Topics	Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Substance use and treatment

Rural Health Research Products Included in this Recap

• Barriers Rural Physicians Face Prescribing Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder
  Journal Article
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 07/2017
  Opioid use disorder is a serious public health problem. Management with buprenorphine is an effective medication-assisted treatment, but 60.1% of rural counties lack a physician with a Drug Enforcement Agency waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. This national study surveyed all rural physicians who have received a waiver in the United States.
• Changes in the Supply of Physicians With a DEA DATA Waiver to Prescribe Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 05/2017
  This project mapped the location of physicians with a DEA DATA 2000 waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in July 2012 and April 2016. The number of counties without a waivered physician and the ratio of waivered physicians per 100,000 population is reported by the rural/urban status of the county.
• Geographic and Specialty Distribution of U.S. Physicians Trained to Treat Opioid Use Disorder
  Journal Article
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2015
  Examines the distribution of physicians authorized to treat opioid use disorder in the United States, and proposes increasing access to office-based treatment as a promising strategy to address rising rates of opioid use disorder in rural areas.
• Illicit Drug and Opioid Use Disorders Among Non-Metropolitan Residents
  Policy Brief
  Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2018
  We provide estimates of the prevalence of illicit drug and opioid use disorders among non-metropolitan adults ages 18-64. Prevalence rates did not decline from 2011-2013 to 2014-2015 despite the implementation of major substance use treatment policies. Of particular concern, heroin use disorder prevalence increased in recent years.
• Perceived Treatment Need and Utilization for Illicit Drug and Opioid Use Disorders in Non-Metropolitan Areas
  Policy Brief
  Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Date: 01/2018
  The vast majority of non-metropolitan adults 18-64 who satisfy criteria for an illicit drug use or opioid use disorder do not perceive a need for treatment or receive formal substance use treatment. Despite policies to increase treatment access during the 2008-2015 study period, we found few changes in perceived treatment need and utilization.
• Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Strategies: The Experience in Four States
  Policy Brief
  Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 04/2017
  Little is known about what states with large rural populations are doing to combat opioid use disorders (OUD) in rural communities. This qualitative study identified rural challenges to the provision of OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services and explored promising strategies to tackle the opioid crisis in rural communities.
• Rural Opioid Abuse: Prevalence and User Characteristics
  Policy Brief
  Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 02/2016
  Opioid abuse is the fastest growing substance abuse problem in the nation and the primary cause of unintentional drug overdose deaths. This study examined the rural-urban prevalence of non-medical use of pain relievers and heroin in the past year and the socioeconomic characteristics associated with their use and other risky behavior.