This presentation will summarise retention in opioid agonist treatment, and its relationship with person, treatment, and prescriber factors.
Long-term use of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is recommended, however, for various reasons, some people are not retained. Evidence for factors impacting OAT retention mostly relate to person and treatment characteristics, with limited research considering characteristics of the treatment prescribers (e.g., tenure of prescribing, peer group size). Using retrospective linked data, this study examines the impact of prescriber, treatment and client characteristics on methadone and buprenorphine retention among clients who first entered OAT in NSW, Australia between August 2001 and December 2015. Findings will have important implications for our understanding of factors impacting OAT retention, as well as inform future interventions targeted at retaining clients in treatment.
About the speaker
Chrianna Bharat obtained her Honours degree in Applied Statistics at the University of Western Australia and has since worked as an applied biostatistician in the fields of population health and medicine. Chrianna is currently in the third year of her PhD at the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre. Her doctoral research investigates the potential for linked data and predictive modelling to improve the prevention and treatment of opioid dependence.