Health and correctional staff acceptability of depot buprenorphine in NSW prisons

Abstract

The introduction of depot buprenorphine into correctional settings was considered to have the potential to increase safety for patients, improve staff / patient relations and advance patient health outcomes via expanded treatment coverage and efficiencies gained through enhanced health service delivery. Support was almost universal from both correctional and health staff participating in this study. These findings build on emerging research regarding the positive impact of more flexible OAT programs and could be used to engage support for the implementation of depot buprenorphine from staff in other secure settings.