Exploring Rural Perspectives of Buprenorphine

Researchers at Indiana University conducted one-on-one interviews with clinical providers and other stakeholders in the recovery arena to better understand the slow uptake of the drug most used to treat opioid use disorder. Biases against buprenorphine was the most consistent theme, though the reason for bias differed amongst stakeholders. Clinical providers and behavioral health care providers preferred the abstinence approach rather than use of medications. Hospital administrators, peer recovery coaches, and criminal justice representatives tended to hold a bias against substance use in general and/or had a lack of knowledge of how buprenorphine was administered and how it works.  Similar responses were reported in a 2020 study of attitudes in rural Ohio.