title: Comparing the life concerns of prescription opioid and heroin users.
abstract: This study explored life concerns of prescription opioid (PO) and heroin users. Persons entering opioid detoxification rated their level of concern about 43 health and welfare items. Using exploratory factor analysis and conceptual rationale, we identified ten areas of concern. Participants (N=529) were 69.9% male, 87.5% non-Hispanic Caucasian, and 24.2% PO users. Concern about drug problems was perceived as the most serious concern, followed by money problems, relationship problems, mental health, and cigarette smoking. PO users expressed significantly lower concern about drug problems (p=.017) and transmissible diseases (p<.001), but were more concerned about alcohol use (p<.001) than heroin users. There were no significant differences with regard to the other 7 areas of concern. Recognition of the daily worries of opioid dependent persons could allow providers to better tailor their services to the context of their patients' lives.
authors.affiliation: General Medicine Research Unit, Butler Hospital, Providence, RI 02906, USA; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA. Electronic address: Michael_Stein@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: General Medicine Research Unit, Butler Hospital, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: General Medicine Research Unit, Butler Hospital, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
authors.forename: Portia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thurmond
authors.affiliation: Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA; Stanley Street Treatment and Resources, Inc., Fall River, MA 02720, USA.
authors.forename: Genie L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Bailey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D063487:Prescription Drug Misuse / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Detoxification; Health concerns; Heroin; Opioids; Self-reported health