Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38484417›Full record

ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2024

Barriers to opioid use disorder treatment among people who use drugs in the rural United States: A qualitative, multi-site study.

T J Stopka, A T Estadt, G Leichtling, J C Schleicher, L S Mixson, J Bresett, E Romo, P Dowd, S M Walters, A M Young and 5 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed
25.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Correlates of Rural Naloxone Possession Among People Who Use Drugs: A Multi-State Cross-Sectional Analysis.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026
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  8. Central amygdalar PKCδ neurons mediate fentanyl withdrawal.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  9. Opioid consumption, availability, and policy alignment in primary hospice and palliative care in China: a multicomponent comparative analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors at 11 institutions in 1 country.

T J StopkaDepartment of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: Thomas.Stopka@tufts.edu.
A T EstadtDivision of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
G LeichtlingComagine Health, Portland, OR, USA.
J C SchleicherUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medicine, Madison, WI, USA.
L S MixsonUniversity of Washington, Department of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
J BresettSouthern Illinois University at Carbondale, Dept of Public Health, Carbondale, IL, USA.
E RomoDepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
P DowdChan Medical School-Baystate, University of Massachusetts, Springfield, MA, USA.
S M WaltersNew York University's Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
A M YoungCollege of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
W ZuleRTI International, Research Triangle, NC, USA.
P D FriedmannChan Medical School-Baystate, University of Massachusetts, Springfield, MA, USA.
V F GoUniversity, of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
R BakerOregon Health & Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, OR, USA.
R J FredericksenUniversity of Washington, Department of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
University of Washington · USNew York University · USPortland State University · USRTI International · USSouthern Illinois University Carbondale · USThe Ohio State University · USTufts University · USUniversity of Kentucky · USUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison · US

Funding

Ending transmission of HIV, HCV, and STDs and overdose in rural communities of people who inject drugs (ETHIC)UH3DA044829 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI JENKINS, WILEY, PHO, MAI TUYET · 2019 to 2022
$5.2M
Kentucky Communities and Researchers Engaging to Halt the Opioid Epidemic (CARE2HOPE)UH3DA044798 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · PI COOPER, HANNAH LF, YOUNG, APRIL MARIE · 2019 to 2022
$4.4M
Oregon HIV/Hepatitis and Opioid Prevention and Engagement (OR-HOPE) Study Cost ExtensionUH3DA044831 · NIDA · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · PI KORTHUIS, PHILIP TODD · 2019 to 2022
$4.0M
Drug Injection Surveillance and Care Enhancement for Rural Northern New England (DISCERNNE)UH3DA044830 · NIDA · BAYSTATE MEDICAL CENTER, INC. · PI FRIEDMANN, PETER D, STOPKA, THOMAS J · 2019 to 2022
$3.9M
Rural Comorbidity and HIV consequences of Opioid use Research and Treatment Initiative (Rural cohort)U24DA048538 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI CRANE, HEIDI M., TSUI, JUDITH · 2019 to 2023
$3.7M
Community-based, client-centered prevention homes to address the rural opioid epidemicUH3DA044826 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI SEAL, DAVID W, WESTERGAARD, RYAN PATRICK · 2019 to 2022
$2.6M
Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve emergency management planning for harm reduction services in rural OhioUH3DA044822 · NIDA · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI GO, VIVIAN F., MILLER, WILLIAM C · 2019 to 2022
$2.5M
Mitigating the Outcomes Associated with the Injection Drug Use Epidemic in Southern AppalachiaUH3DA044823 · NIDA · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · PI ZULE, WILLIAM A · 2019 to 2021
$2.4M
Drug Injection Surveillance and Care Enhancement for Rural Northern New England (DISCERNNE)UG3DA044830 · NIDA · BAYSTATE MEDICAL CENTER, INC. · PI FRIEDMANN, PETER D · 2017 to 2018
$1.6M
Community-based, client-centered prevention homes to address the rural opioid epidemicUG3DA044826 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI SEAL, DAVID W, WESTERGAARD, RYAN PATRICK · 2017 to 2018
$1.4M
Kentucky Communities & Researchers Engaging to Halt the Opioid Epidemic-CARE2HOPEUG3DA044798 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · PI COOPER, HANNAH LF, YOUNG, APRIL MARIE · 2017 to 2018
$1.3M
Mitigating the Outcomes Associated with the Injection Drug Use Epidemic in Southern AppalachiaUG3DA044823 · NIDA · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · PI ZULE, WILLIAM A · 2017 to 2018
$1.2M
NIDA NIH HHS U24 DA048538NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044798NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044822NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044823NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044825NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044826NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044829NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044830NIDA NIH HHS UG3 DA044831NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044798NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044822NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044823NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044826NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044829NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044830NIDA NIH HHS UH3 DA044831
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2020, 2.8 million people required substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in nonmetropolitan or 'rural' areas in the U.S. Among this population, only 10% received SUD treatment from a specialty facility, and 1 in 500 received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). We explored the context surrounding barriers to SUD treatment in the rural United States.

methodsWe conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews from 2018 to 2019 to assess barriers to SUD treatment among people who use drugs (PWUD) across seven rural U.S. study sites. Using the social-ecological model (SEM), we examined individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy factors contributing to perceived barriers to SUD treatment. We employed deductive and inductive coding and analytical approaches to identify themes. We also calculated descriptive statistics for participant characteristics and salient themes.

resultsAmong 304 participants (55% male, mean age 36 years), we identified barriers to SUD treatment in rural areas across SEM levels. At the individual/interpersonal level, relevant themes included: fear of withdrawal, the need to "get things in order" before entering treatment, close-knit communities and limited confidentiality, networks and settings that perpetuated drug use, and stigma. Organizational-level barriers included: strict facility rules, treatment programs managed like corrections facilities, lack of gender-specific treatment programs, and concerns about jeopardizing employment. Community-level barriers included: limited availability of treatment in local rural communities, long distances and limited transportation, waitlists, and a lack of information about treatment options. Policy-level themes included insurance challenges and system-imposed barriers such as arrest and incarceration.

conclusionOur findings highlight multi-level barriers to SUD treatment in rural U.S. communities. Salient barriers included the need to travel long distances to treatment, challenges to confidentiality due to small, close-knit communities where people are highly familiar with one another, and high-threshold treatment program practices. Our findings point to the need to facilitate the elimination of treatment barriers at each level of the SEM in rural America.

Indexed as

Opioid-Related DisordersRural PopulationAdultFemaleHumansMaleQualitative ResearchSocial StigmaUnited States

Identifiers

PMID38484417
PMCPMC10997882
OpenAlexW4391787293

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.