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Table 1 Sample characteristics stratified by inability to contact opioid agonist treatment (OAT) prescriber when needed among 448 people who accessed OAT in the past 6 months in Vancouver, Canada, between July and November 2020

From: Inability to contact opioid agonist therapy prescribers during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Canadian setting: a cross-sectional analysis among people on opioid agonist therapy

Characteristic

Total

Inability to contact OAT prescriber (%)

p-value

Unable to Talk

Able to talk

Did not want to talk

448 (100%)

85 (19.0%)

268 (59.8%)

95 (21.2%)

Most recent OAT prescribed

 Methadone

316 (70.5)

59 (69.4)

184 (68.7)

73 (76.8)

–

 Buprenorphine/naloxone (suboxone)

34 (7.6)

8 (9.4)

23 (8.6)

3 (3.16)

–

 Long-acting buprenorphine

1 (0.2)

0

1 (0.4)

0

–

 Injectable OAT

29 (6.5)

3 (3.5)

20 (7.5)

6 (6.3)

–

 SROM

37 (8.3)

6 (7.1)

28 (10.5)

3 (3.1)

–

Cancellation of visits or service for OAT due to the COVID-19 pandemica

43 (9.6)

17 (20.0)

15 (5.6)

11 (11.6)

 < 0.001

Age (median, Q1–Q3)

49 (37–57)

40 (31–53)

50 (39–58)

49 (37–57)

0.001

Male (vs. female and non-binary)

246 (54.9)

45 (52.9)

139 (51.9)

62 (65.3)

0.073

White (vs. IBPOC)

273 (61.4)

65 (76.5)

157 (59.0)

51 (54.3)

0.008

 > Secondary school

209 (47.4)

39 (46.4)

130 (49.1)

40 (43.5)

0.685

Chronic painb,c

194 (43.3)

48 (56.5)

113 (42.3)

33 (34.7)

0.011

Moderate/severe depression or anxietyd

220 (52.6)

62 (81.6)

116 (46.0)

42 (46.7)

 < 0.000

DTES residenceb

235 (52.5)

41 (48.2)

145 (54.1)

49 (51.6)

0.629

Homelessb

55 (12.3)

13 (15.5)

29 (10.9)

13 (13.7)

0.481

Incarcerationb

10 (2.2)

2 (2.4)

5 (1.9)

3 (3.2)

0.765

Negative police encounterb,e

17 (3.8)

5 (6.0)

8 (3.0)

4 (4.2)

0.459

Non-fatal overdoseb

68 (15.3)

20 (24.1)

31 (11.6)

17 (17.9)

0.016

Self-reported substance useb

 Daily unregulated opioids usef

203 (45.4)

44 (51.8)

113 (42.3)

46 (48.4)

0.252

 Daily prescription opioids useg

13 (2.9)

4 (4.7)

4 (1.5)

5 (5.3)

0.096

 Daily stimulant use

150 (33.6)

35 (41.2)

81 (30.3)

34 (35.8)

0.160

 Injection drug use

264 (58.9)

54 (63.5)

152 (56.7)

58 (61.1)

0.481

Experiences since beginning of COVID-19

 Increase in violence

35 (8.1)

12 (14.5)

19 (7.4)

4 (4.4)

0.043

 Increase in difficulty accessing health/social services

88 (20.3)

38 (45.8)

39 (15.2)

11 (11.8)

 < 0.000

 Inability to self-isolate or social distance

106 (23.8)

29 (34.5)

46 (17.2)

31 (32.6)

 < 0.000

Perceived levels of medication doses among those on methadone (n = 316)

 About right

218 (73.9)

32 (58.2)

140 (81.4)

46 (67.6)

0.004

 Too low

62 (21.0)

18 (32.7)

28 (16.3)

16 (23.5)

 

 Too high

15 (5.1)

5 (9.1)

4 (2.3)

6 (8.8)

 
  1. Missing observations were minimal and excluded from the denominator when calculating percentages
  2. DTES downtown eastside, PO prescription opioid, SROM slow-release oral morphine, IBPOC indigenous, black, and people of colour
  3. aDenotes behaviors/events in the past month
  4. bDenotes behaviors/events in the past 6 months
  5. cChronic Pain is defined using the international pain guidelines (persistent or recurrent pain lasting longer than 3 months)
  6. dPatient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) short form was used to assess anxiety/depression (moderate/severe vs. mild/none)
  7. eNegative police encounter refers to being stopped, searched, or detained by the police
  8. fDaily unregulated opioid use includes the use of fentanyl, down unspecified or heroin (injection/non-injection)
  9. gDaily stimulant use included the use of daily crack, daily methamphetamine, and daily cocaine in the last 6 months
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Addiction Science & Clinical Practice

ISSN: 1940-0640