Geography, Treatment Modality, and Substance Use: Evaluating Factors That Impact Opioid Agonist Therapy in Northern Ontario, Canada - Abstract
The prescribing of opioids is becoming increasingly more prevalent in Ontario, and the misuse of prescription opioids is on the rise. Prescription opioid abuse is of particular concern across Northern rural communities throughout Ontario, where access to addiction treatment is limited. These communities experience high rates of addiction along with decreased access to addiction treatment services. However, research suggests that these communities greatly benefit from alternative modes of care, such as telemedicine. This form of care mitigates the distance and isolation that people living in Northern, rural, and remote communities face when seeking health care services. Along with the geographic hindrance that people in Northern rural communities’ experience, the concurrent use of other substances may also negatively impact their treatment outcomes. This is of particular concern due to the high rates of concurrent drug use among patients receiving opioid addiction treatment, which is often associated with a more complex clinical course. In this paper, we discuss the various factors that impact opioid addiction treatment in Northern Ontario including geography, treatment modality, and substance use. It is necessary to better understand how these factors impact patient care in order to enhance treatment outcomes for people seeking addiction treatment in the North.