Examining Employment and Employment Barriers Among a Sample of Patients in Medication-Assisted Treatment in the United States

Background: Barriers to employment are a considerable problem for individuals recovering from an opioid use disorder (OUD). Being unemployed while receiving OUD treatment is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. Objectives: Apply the biopsychosocial model to examine employment status and the association of barriers to employment among a sample of adults receiving Methadone for OUD. Materials and Methods: Administrative data from an east coast midsized urban medication-assisted treatment provider in the United States were obtained from a state database. Univariate analyses were used to describe the sample, and bivariate analyses were used to examine the relationship between employment status and select variables. A logistic regression model was used to predict employment status. Results: Sample characteristics include 80.8% unemployed, 63.1% male, 49.6% White, and 65.3% never married. Employment status was significantly associated with past 30-day depression/sadness (χ2(1)=11.361, P
Source: Addictive Disorders and Their Treatment - Category: Addiction Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research