Although medication for addiction treatment (MAT) has been successful at reducing illicit opioid use and opioid related overdoses, there are still significant barriers to the dissemination and adoption of MAT. In this study, researchers including Harold Pollack (CHAS Co-Director and Professor at the Crown Family School) and John Schneider (CHAS Fellow and Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences at UChicago) seek to understand the general adult population’s knowledge, attitudes, and stigma towards opioid use disorder (OUD), people with histories of opioid misuse, and policies related to OUD. They conducted a cross-sectional national survey of the U.S. adult population, in which participants completed a self-report survey that addressed these issues. They found that on average, the general adult population moderately endorsed stigma, agreed that OUD is a medical condition, agreed with policies to increase access to OUD treatment, and was less likely to endorse OUD as a crime. Conversely, not considering OUD to be a medical condition was associated with higher levels of stigma, endorsing OUD as a crime, and opposing policies to help people access OUD treatment. Researchers conclude that this data can serve as guidance for policymakers to target individuals for public education efforts to reduce stigma and draw more support for public health interventions that emphasize OUD as a medical condition.
