Hamilton, Emily; Voss, Maren Wright; Swenson, Kira; Lichfield, Lana (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Voss, Maren (Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services, Kinesiology and Health Science Department)
We interviewed rural individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) to get a better handle on opioid misuse disorders causes and solutions.
To minimize bias in the conducting of interviews, we followed a community engagement model of training community members to interview participants. Two community members were recruited from the recovery community to receive training as a community scholar. Each community scholar completed CITI training which meets National Institutes of Health standards for the Responsible Conduct of Research for human subjects. Each community scholar completed two additional sessions of training on qualitative data collection and interviewing skills. Interviews were scheduled and participants were provided with an Institutional Review Board-approved informed consent form. Given the sensitive nature of the topic, the consent form stressed the option to use a pseudonym and the opportunity to withdraw participation and interview content at any time. The participant was also informed of community resources if at any time during the interview they should become distressed. The community scholar conducted interviews using semi-structured interview prompts, with the freedom to ask clarifying or exploratory questions at will. A member of the IRB approved research team served as the recorder for each interview to ensure sound quality, ethics and safety.
The interviews collected by community scholars provide insight into the unique elements of dealing with an opioid addiction in rural Utah. Themes identified include the tendency toward isolation, the strength of the addiction and fear of withdrawals, and the utility of the criminal justice system as a pathway to recover. Interviews have been extended to an open forum of community conversations, to discuss difficult subject matter in a constructive way. The goal is to reduce stigma and engage community partners to collaborate on bringing in more available resources to help those who struggle.