Disparities in expected driving time to opioid treatment and treatment completion: findings from an exploratory study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Commuting time to treatment has been shown to affect healthcare outcomes such as engagement and initiation. The purpose of this study is to extend this line of research to investigate the effects of driving time to opioid programs on treatment outcomes.

Methods

We analyzed discharge survey data from 22,587 outpatient opioid use disorder treatment episodes (mainly methadone) in Los Angeles County and estimated the associated driving time to each episode using Google Maps. We used multivariable logistic regressions to examine the association between estimated driving time and odds of treatment completion after adjusting for possible confounders.

Results

Findings show an average driving time of 11.32 min and an average distance of 11.18 km. We observed differe

SUBMITTER: Alibrahim A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8996398 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature