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Seeking prescription opioids from physicians for nonmedical use among people who inject drugs in a Canadian setting
Author(s) -
Kennedy Mary Clare,
Kerr Thomas,
DeBeck Kora,
Dong Huiru,
Milloy M.J.,
Wood Evan,
Hayashi Kanna
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1111/ajad.12380
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , logistic regression , family medicine , ethnic group , odds ratio , psychiatry , public health , prescription drug misuse , odds , opioid , opioid use disorder , nursing , receptor , sociology , anthropology
Background and Objectives Despite the high prevalence of prescription opioid (PO) misuse, little is known about the phenomenon of seeking POs for nonmedical use among high‐risk populations, such as people who inject drugs (PWID). We therefore sought to examine the prevalence and correlates of seeking POs from a physician for nonmedical use among PWID in Vancouver, Canada. Methods Cross‐sectional data from two open prospective cohort studies of PWID in Vancouver were collected between June 2013 and May 2014 ( n = 1252). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with seeking POs from physicians for nonmedical use. Results Of 1252 participants, 458 individuals (36.6%) reported ever trying to get a PO prescription from a physician for nonmedical use and, of these, 343 (74.9%, comprising 27.4% of the total sample) reported ever being successful. Variables independently and positively associated with PO‐seeking behavior included older age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.02), Caucasian ethnicity (AOR = 1.38), having ever overdosed (AOR = 1.32), having ever participated in methadone maintenance therapy (AOR = 1.90), having ever dealt drugs (AOR = 1.65), and having ever been refused a prescription for pain medication (AOR = 2.02) (all p < .05). Discussion and Conclusions We observed that PO‐seeking behavior was common among this sample of PWID and associated with several markers of higher intensity drug use. Scientific Significance Our findings highlight the need to identify evidence‐based public health and clinical strategies to mitigate PO misuse among PWID without compromising care for PWID with legitimate medical concerns. (Am J Addict 2016;25:275–282)