Medicated Assisted Treatment for Adolescents with Opioid Use Disorder: A Review of Current Literature

Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Abstract

This paper is a literature review of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for adolescents with opioid use disorder. It is guided by two questions. What is the extent and nature of adolescents' utilization of MAT? Does MAT affect adolescents' retention in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD)? A systematic review of existing research was conducted to examine the utilization of MAT for adolescents in treatment for an OUD and their retention in treatment programs that dispense MAT. A search of CINAHL, PubMed and Cochrane Review Databases was performed using the terms medication-assisted treatment AND (opioid use disorder OR opiates) AND (adolescents OR young adults OR teenagers OR youth). The search was limited to studies published within the last 8 years (2010-2018) that include original quantitative research of adolescents' (12 - 17 years old) utilization, retention rates and outcomes of MAT for OUD. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Four major themes were extracted from this literature review: (a) Engagement is key to retention of adolescents in MAT, (b) access barriers contribute to underutilization of MAT by adolescents, (c) lack of adaptation to the unique developmental needs of adolescents impacts MAT utilization and retention, and (d) moving forward, there is a need for more studies specifically focused on MAT for adolescents with OUD.

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