Drug-use stigma among addiction treatment providers is a barrier to care; state policymakers can help create change

Many substance abuse disorder providers have stigmas
about drug use. (Photo by V.  Hryshchenko, Unsplash)

Even though many addiction treatment centers encourage participants to talk openly about their opioid or substance-use disorder, many patients encounter medical providers with drug-use stigmas, which present an obstacle to care, reports Kaitlyn Levinson of Route Fifty. Some state governments can use policy changes to help remove social stigmas as a barrier to addiction treatment.

Noa Krawczyk, an assistant professor at New York University, told Levinson, "At the individual level of a person choosing not to use those treatments because of negative perceptions around them, to the policies that regulate these treatments [and] to the protocols that exist in treatment programs for how these medications are delivered. . . .[Stigma is] ingrained in every single aspect of these treatments and plays a huge role as in terms of a barrier to care.”

Even when opioid treatment is available and affordable, facing a biased medical community can mean a substance disorder patient opts out of recovery treatment. "A recent analysis from The Pew Charitable Trusts suggests normalizing methadone treatment could help expand its accessibility," Levinson writes. "Some states are moving to align their methadone-related regulations to mirror the federal government’s efforts, including California where policymakers are considering a bill that would allow doctors — not just methadone clinics — to prescribe take-home doses of the medicine."

Making treatment more accepted and widely available may address some stigmas, but changing policy goals and language can also help shift attitudes.

Massachusetts policymakers are working to remove drug-use stigma dynamics when a newborn tests positive for drug dependency. "Under current law, hospital workers are required to notify state officials about babies whose blood tests indicate substance use from their parent," Levinson reports. "The new policy would only mandate such reporting if the infant was at imminent risk of abuse or neglect, WBUR reported. The bill also directs health officials to establish a plan for new parents managing their substance use disorder."

Addiction workers need to thoroughly understand addiction as a medical problem or many treatment facilities will fail to help patients. Frances McGaffey, associate manager of Pew’s substance use prevention and treatment initiative, told Levinson, "[Otherwise] there is a mismatch between the community the provider aims to serve and the population actually getting care."