ArticleHarm reduction journal2023
Patient experiences of methadone treatment changes during the first wave of COVID-19: a national community-driven survey.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lessons from COVID-19 for improving delivery of medications for opioid use disorder in future pandemic events: results from a Puerto Rico Delphi consensus panel.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Impacts of Disruptive Events on Addictive Behavioral Patterns: A Cross-Sectional Study of Methadone Maintenance Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran.Health science reports · 2025Article
- City-level drug policies in Portugal: the COVID-19 pandemic as an analyzer of harm reduction responsiveness in Porto and Lisbon.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Community-Driven Research with People Who Use Drugs: A Virtual Project During Multiple Epidemics.Sociological methodology · 2025Article
- The hidden costs of 'free' treatment: A cross-sectional study of patient-incurred costs for daily methadone maintenance treatment in Nairobi, Kenya.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Article
- "It didn't hurt me": patients' and providers' perspectives on unsupervised take-home doses, drug diversion, and overdose risks in the provision of medication for opioid use disorder during COVID-19 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Assessing the impact of public funding in alleviating participant reduction and improving the retention rate in methadone maintenance treatment clinics in Taiwan: an interrupted time series analysis.Implementation science : IS · 2024Article
- Lessons for future pandemics: Temporal evolution and rural-urban variations in the impacts of the COVID-19 on opioid use treatment.PloS one · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDuring COVID-19, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) allowed Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) programs to relax in-person MMT requirements to reduce COVID-19 exposure. This study examines patient-reported changes to in-person methadone clinic attendance requirements during COVID-19.
methodsFrom June 7, 2020, to July 15, 2020, a convenience sample of methadone patients (N = 392) were recruited in collaboration with National Survivors Union (NSU) in 43 states and Washington D.C. through social media (Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and Web site pop-ups). The community-driven research (CDR) online survey collected information on how patient take-home methadone dosing and in-person drug testing, counseling, and clinic visit frequency changed prior to COVID-19 (before March 2020) to during COVID-19 (June and July 2020).
resultsDuring the study time period, the percentage of respondents receiving at least 14 days of take-home doses increased from 22 to 53%, while the percentage receiving one or no take-home doses decreased from 22.4% before COVID-19 to 10.2% during COVID-19. In-person counseling attendance decreased from 82.9% to 19.4%. While only 3.3% of respondents accessed counseling through telehealth before COVID-19, this percentage increased to 61.7% during COVID-19. Many respondents (41.3%) reported visiting their clinics in person once a week or more during COVID-19.
conclusionsDuring the first wave of COVID-19, methadone patients report decreased in-person clinic attendance and increased take-home doses and use of telehealth for counseling services. However, respondents reported considerable variations, and many were still required to make frequent in-person clinic visits, which put patients at risk of COVID-19 exposure. Relaxations of MMT in-person requirements during COVID-19 should be consistently implemented and made permanent, and patient experiences of these changes should be explored further.
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