A survey of Israeli specialist physicians found varying levels of knowledge, stigma, and approaches toward opioid maintenance treatment, highlighting barriers to care.
Medical educators, addiction medicine specialists, health policymakers, and OUD treatment advocates in Israel.
Knowledge gaps + stigmaIsraeli physicians showed variable OUD treatment knowledge and stigmatizing attitudes
What the researchers found
Israeli specialist physicians showed variable knowledge of opioid maintenance treatment and held stigmatizing attitudes that could affect treatment delivery and referral patterns for opioid use disorder.
Why it matters
Physician stigma toward medication-assisted treatment is a major barrier to addressing the opioid crisis. Understanding these attitudes in Israel, which aims to prevent an epidemic, can inform targeted education.
The numbers in context
Survey of specialist physicians in Israel evaluating objective knowledge, stigma levels, and approaches to opioid maintenance treatment.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional survey of specialist physicians in Israel assessing OUD knowledge, stigma, and familiarity with opioid maintenance treatment.
Who was studied
Specialist physicians in Israel surveyed about their knowledge and attitudes toward opioid maintenance treatment.
What this study cannot tell us
Self-selection bias in survey respondents; Israeli context may not generalize to other countries; social desirability may affect stigma reporting.
How to read the evidence
Cross-sectional physician survey provides descriptive data on attitudes; useful for identifying education targets.
When this study was published
Recent survey reflecting current physician attitudes in Israel.
The bigger picture
Physician attitudes toward substance use treatment shape patient access and outcomes. Identifying knowledge gaps and stigma enables targeted medical education to improve OUD care delivery.
Replication
Contributes to global literature on physician attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment.
Funding
Not specified
Conflicts of interest
Not specified
Questions still open
- Which physician specialties have the most stigma?
- Does medical education in Israel address OUD treatment?
- How do Israeli physician attitudes compare to other countries?
Read the original research
Stigma and level of familiarity with opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) among specialist physicians in Israel.
Harm reduction journal, 20(1), 134
Citation
Lihi, Rozner; Yael, Delayahu; Silviu, Brill; Anat, Sason; Marsha, Weinstein; Stacy, Shoshan; Shaul, Schreiber; Miriam, Adelson; Einat, Peles. (2023). Stigma and level of familiarity with opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) among specialist physicians in Israel.. Harm reduction journal, 20(1), 134. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00869-9