Public transit and methadone - Spatial analyses of opioid treatment program access in Greater Boston, 2020-2022.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Methadone, an FDA-approved medication, can effectively treat opioid use disorder (OUD). However, long travel times to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) commonly present barriers to initiating and continuing methadone treatment. We utilized geographic information systems to identify areas with unmet OTP access needs via public transportation and walking in Boston, Massachusetts.

Methods

We created public transit-time and walk-time catchment areas around OTPs. We assessed spatial overlap between the catchment areas and locations of opioid-related overdose decedent residences from 2020 to 2022 in Boston, and inequities in OTP access by decedent race/ethnicity using logistic regression.

Results

In Greater Boston, 50.1% of fatal opioid-related overdose decedent re

SUBMITTER: O'Reilly MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12681875 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature