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The Options Study: why some patients discontinue depot buprenorphine

Dr Simon Clay
Author: Dr Simon Clay

Resource Type: NDARC Seminars

Dr Simon Clay presented at the NDARC Webinar Series on Thursday 21 April 2022.

This presentation outlined the Options Study, exploring patients’ experiences with depot buprenorphine, and why some decide to discontinue.

The Options Study was a nationwide study that explored what it’s like to take depot buprenorphine and to understand why some people decide to stop. To do this, we interviewed 40 individuals from around Australia and asked them questions about their relationship with healthcare professionals and clinicians, other opioid dependency treatments they have tried, what it was like to take depot buprenorphine, what they liked or disliked about it, and how this treatment fits into the broader scope of their life. We found that people stopped depot buprenorphine because: 1) they wanted to use opioids again, 2) it was ineffective, 3) the treatment was different to what they were expecting, 4) they felt pushed into starting the treatment, and 5) they felt ‘cured’ and no longer needed treatment.

About the speaker

Simon Clay is a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW. He has a background in gender studies and social science, and specialises in research that explores the social life of drugs and how substance use and other health-related practices relate to personal constructions of health. Simon has published on a range of sociological topics, including gay men’s identity practices on Grindr, the ethics of drug use research, the phenomenon of the ‘Dad Bod’, and how drug use and other ‘risky’ health-related practices can be forms of self-care.