Frontiers in Psychiatry (Mar 2024)

Leveraging neuroscience education to address stigma related to opioid use disorder in the community: a pilot study

  • Evan J. Kyzar,
  • Melissa R. Arbuckle,
  • Adam Abba-Aji,
  • Krishna Balachandra,
  • Joseph Cooper,
  • Adriane Dela Cruz,
  • Ellen Edens,
  • Brady Heward,
  • Brady Heward,
  • Michael Jibson,
  • Ayana Jordan,
  • Daniel Moreno-De-Luca,
  • Daniel Moreno-De-Luca,
  • Hannah Pazderka,
  • Mohit Singh,
  • Jeremy J. Weleff,
  • Jeremy J. Weleff,
  • Bernice Yau,
  • Justin Young,
  • David A. Ross

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1360356
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

Read online

Opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose deaths are a public health crisis. One contributing factor is stigma towards people who use opioids. We developed and conducted a public-facing, half-day educational event designed to challenge misperceptions about OUD from a contemporary neuroscience perspective. Participants engaged with three different resources on the neurobiology of addiction, and, at the end of the event, they rated its effectiveness. We also collected and compared pre- and post-event composite OUD stigma scales. Participants rated our approach and the overall event as highly effective. Additionally, OUD stigma scores were lower immediately following the event, and this decrease was primarily driven by decreased internalized stigma. Here, we demonstrate an effective proof-of-concept that an accessible, public-facing, neuroscience education event may reduce OUD stigma in the community.

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