Patients' Attitudes Toward and Experiences With Buprenorphine Treatment

Exploring the Attitudes and Experiences of Patients Engaged in Buprenorphine Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study will disseminate five surveys collecting individual's attitudes and experiences during buprenorphine treatment for Opioid Use Disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Overview

• Status: Suspended
• Conditions: Opioid-Related Disorders; Opioid-use Disorder; Acceptability of Health Care

Detailed Description

The primary objective of this study is to better understand patients' attitudes and experiences during office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) in the COVID-19 pandemic. This study specifically aims to evaluate attitudes and experiences of people prescribe buprenorphine across five domains with the hope of evaluating a) whether telemedicine has improved their access to and experiences with OBOT; b) the factors that motivate individuals in OBOT to abstain from opioid drug use; c) how patients' view the use of cannabis, benzodiazepines, and nicotine during OBOT; d) the degree to which patients in OBOT report using cannabis, benzodiazepines, and nicotine and how their use might have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic; and e) whether patients attitudes towards cannabis, benzodiazepines, and cigarettes/e-cigarettes are associated with their use of those same substances.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 817

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, 02141
      • CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The subject population consists of adults aged 18+ who live in Massachusetts and are currently prescribed buprenorphine by a healthcare provider to treat OUD. Those under the age of 18 will be screened out of the investigation during the consent process. In addition, because many of the survey questions used in this investigation are based on established survey instruments that were created in the English language and validated among English-speaking participants, we will limit the subject population or this study to English-speaking adults.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants must be 18 years of age or older.
• Participants report currently having a legal prescription for buprenorphine for opioid use disorder.
• Participants must have a past or present opioid use disorder.
• Participants must currently reside in the state of Massachusetts.
• Participants must be able to comprehend the English language.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to complete an online survey.
• Unable to complete a verification step that ensures bots are not used to complete survey.
• Complete a survey with no variation suggesting they did not read the survey.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

5

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Survey 1; Survey investigating patients' experiences with buprenorphine treatment for Opioid Use Disorder before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Survey 2; Survey investigating the factors that motivate patients to abstain from opioid drug use during buprenorphine treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Survey 3; Survey investigating patients' attitudes towards and experiences with cannabis use during buprenorphine treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.
Survey 4; Survey investigating patients' attitudes towards and experiences with cigarettes and e-cigarettes use during buprenorphine treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.
Survey 5; Survey investigating patients' attitudes towards and experiences with benzodiazepine use during buprenorphine treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient's Experiences with Office-Based Opioid Treatment	This is an eight-item scale that measures the degree to which participants report being able to access buprenorphine treatment-related appointments and medications before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will be asked to rate each of the eight questions on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 = "extremely easy" to 7= "extremely difficult."	Day 1
Reasons for Abstaining from Opioids Questionnaire	This 17-item scale will measure participant ratings of the importance of 17 factors that motivate abstinence from illicit drug use during office-based opioid treatment. Participants will be asked to rate each of these 17 items on a scale from 0 = "not at all important" to 4 = "extremely important."	Day 1
Patients' Attitudes Toward the Use of Cannabis During Office-Based Opioid Treatment	Participants will rate three items on a scale of 1 = "completely disagree" to 7 = "completely agree." Specifically, participants will rate the degree to which they feel cannabis use is acceptable during office-based opioid treatment (OBOT), they believe that their prescribers' feel cannabis use is acceptable during OBOT, and they feel comfortable discussing cannabis use with their buprenorphine prescribers.	Day 1
Patients' Attitudes Toward the Use of Cigarettes/E-Cigarettes During Office-Based Opioid Treatment	Participants will rate three items on a scale of 1 = "completely disagree" to 7 = "completely agree." Specifically, participants will rate the degree to which patients should be encouraged to quit smoking cigarettes and e-cigarette during office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) and the degree to which they feel smoking helps manage cravings during OBOT.	Day 1
Patients' Attitudes Toward and Experiences with the Use of Benzodiazepines during Office-Based Opioid Treatment	Participants will rate three items on a scale of 1 = "completely disagree" to 7 = "completely agree." Specifically, participants will rate the degree to which benzodiazepine use is acceptable during office-based opioid treatment (OBOT), they feel OBOT providers find benzodiazepine use by their patients acceptable, and they feel comfortable openly discussing their benzodiazepine use with their buprenorphine prescriber.	Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cambridge Health Alliance
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
• Investigators: Study Director: Joseph Rosansky, Cambridge Health Alliance; Principal Investigator: Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD, Cambridge Health Alliance

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 20, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 20, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 20, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 21, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 4, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): November 16, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 11, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 8, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Telemedicine; Recovery; COVID-19; Benzodiazepines; Opioid Use Disorder; Cannabis; Cigarettes; Nicotine; Buprenorphine; E-Cigarettes; Suboxone; Substance Use Disorders; Social Media; Healthcare; Facebook; Office-Based Opioid Treatment
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Narcotic-Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Opioid-Related Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: CHA-IRB-1179/03/21; 3R33AT010125 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); R01CA229355 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No