Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Early Intervention in Psychiatry
Abstract
Aim: Youth ages 12–24 account for approximately 20% of overdoses and yet are poorly reached by opioid agonist treatment (OAT), the most widely recommended treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). This study contributes to understanding this critical gap by describing youths' patterns of OAT engagement at a novel integrated youth-specific OAT program. Methods: A retrospective chart review was carried out on electronic medical records of n = 23 youth with OUD accessing a community-based integrated youth services (IYS) centre. Data abstraction focused on four domains: sociodemographic, social determinants of health, patterns of OAT engagement, and other services utilized. Results: Youths' mean age was 22.6 years (SD = 2.1), with a mean age of first opioid use of 17.4 (SD = 2.7). Youth reported extensive histories of adverse childhood experiences, concurrent mental and physical health complications, and poly substance use. All youth were offered OAT and 83% initiated treatment with bupre norphine/ naloxone, methadone, or slow-release oral morphine. Among those initiat ing OAT, 42.1% were considered stable on OAT. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study to describe youths' OAT engagement in an integrated youth-specific OAT program. Our findings demon strated that a high proportion of youth with OUD initiated OAT in this novel program with varying degrees of OAT stability. These findings can be used to inform the development and implementation of youth-specific and integrated OAT. To account for the novelty of this area of study and small sample sizes, future collaborative efforts across IYS initiatives should be considered, including mixed method approaches to understand outcomes and experiences.
Pages
1028-1037
html
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13446
Volume
17
Issue
10
Publication Date
2023
Keywords
integrated youth services, opioid agonist treatment, opioid use disorder, person-centred care, youth
Disciplines
Nursing | Psychiatry and Psychology
ISSN
1751-7885
Recommended Citation
McInerney, K., Marchand, K., Buckley, J., Gao, C., Kestler, A., Mathias, S., Argyle, A., & Barbic, S.. (2023). Informing youth-centred opioid agonist treatment: Findings from a retrospective chart review of youths' characteristics and patterns of opioid agonist treatment engagement in a novel integrated youth services program. Early intervention in psychiatry, 17(10), 1028–1037. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13446
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