“In a 2014 survey of a nationally representative paid respondent panel of 1,111 U.S. adults, 28 percent reported using opioid pain relievers in the past 12 months, and 70 percent reported having ever used them. Just over half the sample reported pain serious enough to seek treatment. Of those, 80 percent were offered opioids, including 50 percent who were warned about addiction risk and 45 percent who were offered alternative nonmedication pain management. Among those who had ever used opioid pain relievers, 81 percent considered opioids effective in reducing or eliminating pain. Seventeen percent reported using opioid pain relievers not prescribed to them. Seven percent reported using opioid pain relievers for “the feeling it gave, not to treat pain,” and seven percent had used the drugs for “longer than originally prescribed.” Three percent reported having a use disorder, while 29 percent reported having a family member or close friend with a use disorder. The survey also assessed views on causes of the opioid epidemic, those responsible for addressing it, and 16 response policies. Treatment- and naloxone-related policies got much less support than did provider training, law enforcement, prescription drug monitoring program use, and patient restrictions.”
Read more at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.13077/abstract
Source: Wiley.com – Article accepted July 25, 2015