TY - JOUR
T1 - Barriers to Care Experienced by Patients Who Inject Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - A Qualitative Analysis
AU - Gleason, Emily
AU - Nolan, Nathanial S.
AU - Marks, Laura R.
AU - Habrock, Tracey
AU - Liang, Stephen Y.
AU - Durkin, Michael J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was performed as part of a CDC SHEPheRD contract (number 200–2016–9184). It was also supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant numbers [K23DE029514, KL2TR002346, and T32AI007172]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control or the National Institutes of Health.
Funding Information:
This work was performed as part of a CDC SHEPheRD contract (number 20020169184). It was also supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant numbers [K23DE029514, KL2TR002346, and T32AI007172].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/3/1
Y1 - 2022/3/1
N2 - Objectives:To identify the barriers to accessing health care and social services faced by people who inject drugs (PWID) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods:This report is a sub-analysis of a larger qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with PWID admitted to an academic medical center from 2017 to 2020 for an invasive injection-related infection. Standard qualitative analysis techniques, consisting of both inductive and deductive approaches, were used to identify and characterize the effects of COVID-19 on participants.Results:Among the 30 PWID interview participants, 14 reported barriers to accessing health and addiction services due to COVID-19. As facilities decreased appointment availability or transitioned to telemedicine, PWID reported being unable to access services. Social distancing led to isolation or loneliness during hospital stays and in the community. Recovery meetings and support groups, critical to addiction recovery, were particularly affected. Other participants reported that uncertainty and fear of contracting the virus generated changes in behavior that led them to avoid seeking services.Conclusions:COVID-19 has disrupted health systems and social services, leading PWID to experience unprecedented barriers to accessing and maintaining health and addiction services in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Opioid use disorder management must be understood as a holistic process, and a multidisciplinary approach to ensuring comprehensive care, even in the midst of this pandemic, is needed.
AB - Objectives:To identify the barriers to accessing health care and social services faced by people who inject drugs (PWID) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods:This report is a sub-analysis of a larger qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with PWID admitted to an academic medical center from 2017 to 2020 for an invasive injection-related infection. Standard qualitative analysis techniques, consisting of both inductive and deductive approaches, were used to identify and characterize the effects of COVID-19 on participants.Results:Among the 30 PWID interview participants, 14 reported barriers to accessing health and addiction services due to COVID-19. As facilities decreased appointment availability or transitioned to telemedicine, PWID reported being unable to access services. Social distancing led to isolation or loneliness during hospital stays and in the community. Recovery meetings and support groups, critical to addiction recovery, were particularly affected. Other participants reported that uncertainty and fear of contracting the virus generated changes in behavior that led them to avoid seeking services.Conclusions:COVID-19 has disrupted health systems and social services, leading PWID to experience unprecedented barriers to accessing and maintaining health and addiction services in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Opioid use disorder management must be understood as a holistic process, and a multidisciplinary approach to ensuring comprehensive care, even in the midst of this pandemic, is needed.
KW - coronavirus disease 2019
KW - opioid use disorder
KW - persons who inject drugs
KW - substance use disorder
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126830856&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000853
DO - 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000853
M3 - Article
C2 - 33840774
AN - SCOPUS:85126830856
SN - 1932-0620
VL - 16
SP - E133-E136
JO - Journal of Addiction Medicine
JF - Journal of Addiction Medicine
IS - 2
ER -