Table 2.
Characteristics of included studies.
| No. | Study | Region | Aim | Sample | No. of Providers in Sample | Opioid Medication(s) | Data Collection and Qualitative Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (a) Glegg et al., 2022/(b) McCrae et al., 2022 | Canada | "to: 1) describe the operational and clinical characteristics of iOAT, TiOAT and safer supply sites across Canada before and early on in the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) explain the reasons for the emerging changes in safer supply implementation during the pandemic's first wave." (p. 2) | Healthcare providers from 103 iOAT, TiOAT, safer supply, and risk mitigation sites across Canada. | 50 | Any form of OAT, iOAT, tiOAT, or safer supply | Data collection: Interviews; survey with open-ended questions Data collection period: Mar.-May 2020 Approach: Qualitative analysis using “interpretive epistemological lens" (p. 3) |
| 2 | Goldsamt et al., 2021 | United States | "to understand how OTPs adapted to structural, behavioral and regulatory changes, implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the reactions of staff to these changes. This paper focuses on OTP clinic directors' perspectives of the regulatory changes instituted during the early part of the pandemic in the U.S." (p. 2) | Directors of methadone treatment programs in the US, including eight programs in the Northeast, eight in the South, six in the Midwest and three in the West. | 25 | Methadone | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: Jun.-Aug. 2020 Approach: Qualitative description1 |
| 3 | Hatch-Maillette et al. 2021 | United States | "The pandemic incited rapid changes in standard OTP methadone take-home privileges . . . we comment on the immediate impact of these changes on OTP providers and patients" (p. 1) | Medical providers from an OTP in the American Pacific Northwest. | NR | Methadone | Data collection: Not reported Data collection period: Mar.-May 2020 Approach: Qualitative description1 |
| 4 | Hunter et al., 2021 | United States | "To better understand how OTPs have responded to the pandemic, we conducted a qualitative study to describe how clinicians working in OTPs responded to the changes in regulations, particularly the use of telemedicine, as well as challenges to treatment delivery and implications for the quality and safety of care." (p. 2) | Clinicians licensed to dispense methadone at OTPs in 13 US states. | 20 | Methadone | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: May-Jun. 2020 Approach: “Rapid thematic content analysis” (p. 2) |
| 5 | Madden et al., 2021 | United States | "to explore how providers working in community-based substance use treatment perceive MMT regulations, specifically take-home policies, and deregulation [. . .] provide context to better understand how providers are responding to calls extending COVID-19 MMT policies and to identify considerations for meaningful adoption of longer-term policy" (p. 2). | Medical professionals working in Texas or New Mexico, including physicians, licensed counselors, program administrators, and peer support workers. | 59* (8 contributing data on COVID-19 MMT policies) | Methadone, buprenorphine | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: Feb. 2017-Aug. 2020 Approach: Grounded theory |
| 6 | May et al., 2022 | United Kingdom | To "[investigate] the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on the health and wellbeing (including drug-related harms and risk behaviours) and everyday lives of PWID, as well as their experiences of treatment changes from the perspectives of both PWID and service providers" (p. 2). | Service providers and people who use drugs recruited through drug and homelessness charities providing treatment services and healthcare in England and Scotland. | 17 | Methadone, buprenorphine | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: May-Sept. 2021 Approach: Qualitative description1 |
| 7 | Meteliuk et al., 2020 | Ukraine | "We describe the consequences of this interim guidance [including larger take-home allowances] for managing patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are treated with opioid agonist therapies (OAT) in the Ukrainian context." (p. 1). | Chief Narcologists from each administrative region of Ukraine, as well as OAT clients. | NR | NR | Data collection: Weekly calls with Chief Narcologists Data collection period: Jan.-Jun. 2020 Approach: Qualitative description1 |
| 8 | (a) Suen et al., 2022; (b) Wyatt et al., 2022 | United States | "to describe the MOUD treatment experiences of patients and providers at an OTP in San Francisco, California, to inform future research and policy as the US shifts toward recovery from COVID-19." (p. 1148) | MOUD providers and clients at one OTP in San Francisco, California. | 10 | Methadone, buprenorphine | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: Aug.-Sep. 2020 (for provider participants) Approach: Modified grounded theory |
| 9 | Treitler et al., 2022 | United States | "Study aims were to: 1) Describe MOUD practice changes induced by the pandemic; 2) Understand provider experiences with those practice changes; and 3) Elicit provider perspectives on which (if any) changes should be sustained long-term." (p. 2) | MOUD practitioners drawn from a pool of 12 OTP and 58 OBAT [office-based addiction treatment] providers, including prescribers and behavioral health clinicians. | 20 | Methadone, buprenorphine | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: Sep.-Nov. 2020 Approach: Pragmatic qualitative inquiry framework; rapid analysis with deductive and inductive coding |
| 10 | Vicknasingam et al., 2021 | Malaysia | "to collect information and qualitative and quantitative data on the potential impact of the MCO [Movement Control Orders] on PWUDs in Malaysia to evaluate how service providers and recipients of these services were adapting and coping during this period in Malaysia." (p. 2) | MMT personnel and clients at MMT programs, HIV clinics, and NGO services in the Malaysian states of Penang, Kelantan, Selangor, and Melaka | 5* (3 contributing data on COVID-19 MMT policies) | Methadone | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: Mar.-Aug. 2020 Approach: Qualitative description1 |
| 11 | Walters et al., 2022 | United States | "This article examines how the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, and the COVID-19 mitigation strategies which were implemented, affected the lives of people who use drugs in relation to MOUD." (p. 1145) | MOUD service providers and people who use drugs in the Northeast region of the U.S. | 15 | Methadone, buprenorphine | Data collection: Interviews Data collection period: Jun. 2020-[not reported] Approach: Qualitative description;1 insider research |
Abbreviations: iOAT, injectable opioid agonist treatment; MMT, methadone maintenance treatment; MOUD, medications for opioid use disorder; NR, not reported; OTP, opioid treatment program; PWID, people who inject drugs; PWUD, people who use drugs; tiOAT, tablet-based injectable opioid agonist treatment
1
No specific methodology, but qualitative data collection and analysis with hybrid [inductive and deductive] thematic analysis (Hong et al., 2018).