Evaluating interventions to facilitate opioid agonist treatment access among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Ontario during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In March 2020, following a provincial COVID-19 emergency declaration, modifications to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) were introduced in Ontario, Canada to promote treatment access amid the pandemic and ongoing opioid overdose crisis. Modifications included federal exemptions to facilitate OAT prescription re-fills, extensions, and deliveries and interim treatment guidance emphasizing take-home (non-observed) doses and reduced urine drug screening for OAT patients.

Methods

We conducted an interrupted time series study using health administrative data from September 17^th, 2019-September 21^st, 2020, on 359 people who inject drugs with suspected opioid use disorder in Toronto, Ontario. We used segmented regression analyses to evaluate the joint

SUBMITTER: Bouck Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9005368 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature