Table 3.
Association between stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment effectiveness and policy support among U.S. primary care physicians1,2 (N=336)
| Dependent variables | Average marginal effect of stigma3 (95% CI) |
|---|---|
| Belief in OUD treatment effectiveness | |
| Buprenorphine is an effective treatment for OUD | −0.19** (−0.26, −0.12) |
| Methadone is an effective treatment for OUD | −0.19*** (−0.27, −0.12) |
| Injectable extended-release naltrexone is an effective treatment for OUD | −0.12** (−0.20, −0.03) |
| Policy support | |
| Requiring insurers to cover medication for people with OUD | −0.22*** (−0.28, −0.15) |
| Increasing government spending on medication for OUD | −0.15*** (−0.22, −0.09) |
| Allowing clinicians to prescribe methadone to treat OUD in primary care settings | −0.21*** (−0.29, −0.14) |
| Eliminating the requirement to complete an additional 8-hour training and register with the federal government to prescribe buprenorphine (also called Suboxone or Subutex)? | −0.03 (−0.11, 0.06) |
p<0.05
p<0.01
p<0.001
All models control for sex, age, region, highest degree (MD/DO), year of graduation from medical school, specialty, practice type, and personal experience (self, close friend, or family member) with OUD and are weighted for nonresponse.
Independent variable is a continuous summary stigma measure created using the mean of an individuals’ responses to the 12 stigma items (range: 1–5) with 1 indicating the lowest degree of stigma and 5 indicating the highest degree of stigma.
The average marginal effect indicates the percentage point change in the predicted probability of the outcome associated with a one-unit change in the stigma scale (range 1–5).