Are the self-stigma and perceived stigma of patients treated with methadone or buprenorphine still a problem fifty years after the marketing authorization for opioid agonist treatment? The observational STIGMA study.

Background: In the context of the opioid overdose crisis, understanding the barriers to seeking, attaining and remaining in treatment for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) is a public health issue. To date, very few studies have assessed the "self-stigma" (i.e., the internalization of negative societal attitudes and stereotypes about oneself, leading to self-judgment) and "perceived stigma" (i.e., the belief that others hold negative attitudes towards oneself due to a particular condition) experienced by patients with OUD receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT), and none have done so in France. Our study aimed to quantify self-stigma, explore some aspects of perceived stigma, determine the factors associated with greater self-stigma and examine whether the level of self-stigma was related to a delay in seeking care.

Methods: The STIGMA study was a monocentric, cross-sectional study. The data were collected in a French hospital addiction medicine department. Participants were outpatients with current or past OUD who were still receiving or had received OAT. A questionnaire assessing sociodemographics; OUD characteristics; perceived stigma; and quantification of self-stigma by the Self-Stigma Scale-Short, was administered.

Results: A total of 73 questionnaires were included in the analysis. Nearly two-thirds of the patients had a "moderate to high" level of self-stigma. These patients were significantly younger at OUD onset and were significantly more likely to have at least one dependent child than patients reporting a "very low to low" level of self-stigma. Nearly half of the participants experienced perceived stigma from a healthcare professional regarding their OUD or OAT, and nearly one-third of the participants were refused care from a healthcare professional because of their OUD or OAT. Moreover, a quarter of the sample reported delaying care due to fear of being stigmatized. We did not find a relationship between self-stigma levels and a delay in seeking care.

Conclusions: Our study highlights the need to detect stigma and to improve training in addiction medicine.