TY - JOUR
T1 - Tracing the affordances of long-acting injectable depot buprenorphine
T2 - A qualitative study of patients’ experiences in Australia
AU - Barnett, Anthony I.
AU - Savic, Michael
AU - Lintzeris, Nicholas
AU - Bathish, Ramez
AU - Arunogiri, Shalini
AU - Dunlop, Adrian J.
AU - Haber, Paul SW
AU - Graham, Robert
AU - Hayes, Vicky
AU - Lubman, Dan Ian
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by funding from Camurus AB . NL has received honoraria for attendance on Advisory Boards for Indivior, Mundipharma and Chiesi Pharmaceuticals, and has received research funding from Camurus AB for unrelated research. AD has received funding from Camurus AB for undertaking research trials, including the DEBUT study and served on an advisory board (as honorary) for Mundipharma. PH acknowledges Fellowship support from Medical Research Future Fund, Australia , and has served on advisory boards for Indivior, Lundbeck, and AbbVie. RG has received funding from Camurus AB. VH has received funding from Camurus AB and ViiV Healthcare to provide training. DL has previously received speaking honoraria from AstraZeneca, Camurus, Indivior, Janssen, Servier, Shire and Lundbeck and has provided consultancy advice to Lundbeck and Indivior. DL is supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant ( 1196892 ). Other than support received from Camurus AB for this project, AB, MS and RB have no funding disclosures to declare.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/10/1
Y1 - 2021/10/1
N2 - Background: Long-acting injectable depot buprenorphine is an important new treatment option for the management of opioid dependence, delivering therapeutic doses in weekly or monthly formulations. Depot buprenorphine aims to overcome challenges associated with traditional opioid agonist therapy (OAT), including: poor patient adherence; inconvenience of regular attendance for dosing; and, risk of non-medical use of takeaway doses. However, little is known about patients’ experiences of depot buprenorphine. This qualitative study aimed to explore patients’ experiences of the practical and social affordances of depot buprenorphine. Methods: Participants were recruited from sites in Sydney, regional New South Wales, and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Thirty participants (16 men, 14 women; mean age 47.3 years) participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants had histories of both heroin and prescription opioid use, and previous OAT including daily dosing of buprenorphine and methadone. Findings: Depot buprenorphine afforded positive benefits for many participants, including: opportunities to avoid stigma experienced at pharmacies/clinics; time to engage in activities (e.g., travel, work) by releasing participants from previous OAT treatment regimens; and, cost savings by not having to pay pharmacy fees associated with daily dosing. However, for some participants, moving to depot buprenorphine: disrupted engagements with important social/practical supports available at pharmacies/clinics; constrained their control over dosing; and, constrained their ability to generate income via the sale of takeaway doses. Conclusions: While generally experienced as affording benefits, depot buprenorphine can have differing social and practical impacts. Clinicians should monitor patients receiving depot buprenorphine to reduce the risk of unintended consequences including disruption to clinical supports.
AB - Background: Long-acting injectable depot buprenorphine is an important new treatment option for the management of opioid dependence, delivering therapeutic doses in weekly or monthly formulations. Depot buprenorphine aims to overcome challenges associated with traditional opioid agonist therapy (OAT), including: poor patient adherence; inconvenience of regular attendance for dosing; and, risk of non-medical use of takeaway doses. However, little is known about patients’ experiences of depot buprenorphine. This qualitative study aimed to explore patients’ experiences of the practical and social affordances of depot buprenorphine. Methods: Participants were recruited from sites in Sydney, regional New South Wales, and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Thirty participants (16 men, 14 women; mean age 47.3 years) participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants had histories of both heroin and prescription opioid use, and previous OAT including daily dosing of buprenorphine and methadone. Findings: Depot buprenorphine afforded positive benefits for many participants, including: opportunities to avoid stigma experienced at pharmacies/clinics; time to engage in activities (e.g., travel, work) by releasing participants from previous OAT treatment regimens; and, cost savings by not having to pay pharmacy fees associated with daily dosing. However, for some participants, moving to depot buprenorphine: disrupted engagements with important social/practical supports available at pharmacies/clinics; constrained their control over dosing; and, constrained their ability to generate income via the sale of takeaway doses. Conclusions: While generally experienced as affording benefits, depot buprenorphine can have differing social and practical impacts. Clinicians should monitor patients receiving depot buprenorphine to reduce the risk of unintended consequences including disruption to clinical supports.
KW - Australia
KW - Buprenorphine
KW - Depot injections
KW - Opioid dependence
KW - Opioid pharmacotherapy
KW - Qualitative study
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85113386214
U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108959
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108959
M3 - Article
C2 - 34450472
AN - SCOPUS:85113386214
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 227
JO - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
JF - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
M1 - 108959
ER -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being