A Cross-sectional Study of Opioid Agonist Therapy Barriers and Facilitators

Canadians face steep barriers to access treatment for opioid use disorder, including limitations in entry points due to clinical capacity issues. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are well-positioned to ease some of the backlog, given that they prescribe all classes of drugs, including opioid agonist therapy (OAT) medication. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey of NP respondents (N = 114) in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in 2021 of OAT practice, with a focus on NPs as a point-of-care access for patients with substance dependence. Overall, this research adds to the general knowledge of the various barriers and facilitators to NP OAT prescribing.