Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is a type of opioid treatment that typically requires participants to take prescribed doses at their clinic. While methadone can be a lifesaving medication for people with opioid use disorder, the requirement of daily in-person clinic visits can be an extremely challenging barrier to access for MMT participants.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued guidance to Opioid Treatment Programs which expanded participant eligibility to access methadone doses, specifically loosening regulations surrounding take-home doses. Our team is conducting a needs assessment to describe the perceptions about, and changes to, MMT access in the Piedmont region of North Carolina during COVID-19.
Our work was recently published online pre-print, meaning it has not completed the peer review process in a scientific journal. The contents are preliminary and subject to change. However, we are providing the information back to the community given the urgent nature of this topic area.
Please feel free to reference our questionnaire. If using these materials to design similar surveys, we suggest reviewing our summary of suggestions for future studies. You can cite our work using the information provided here. Visit opioiddata.org for more information.