A mixed-method comparison of physician-reported beliefs about and barriers to treatment with medications for opioid use disorder

Table 3 Comparison of Provider-Perceived Efficacy of Buprenorphine vs. Methadone. Detailed Table Summary: When comparing physician perspectives about buprenorphine and methadone to treat OUD, respondents believed that buprenorphine is slightly more effective than methadone in decreasing the risks of opioid-overdose death (paired t (67) = 0.265, p = 0.035)

Perceptions	Buprenorphine		Methadone		t	df	Mean of the Difference	Cohen’s d	95% Confidence Interval		p
Perceptions	n	Mean (SD)	n	Mean (SD)	t	df	Mean of the Difference	Cohen’s d	Lower	Upper	p
MOUD decreases risk of death from opioid overdose	68	4.294 (0.978)	68	4.029 (0.946)	2.147	67	0.265	0.275	0.019	0.511	0.035*
MOUD decreases cravings for opioids	66	4.349 (0.969)	66	4.227 (0.873)	1.070	65	0.121	0.132	−0.105	0.347	0.288
MOUD decreases rates of relapse	65	4.154 (1.004)	65	4.092 (0.931)	0.541	64	0.062	0.064	−0.166	0.289	0.590
MOUD works well in patients with co-occurring mental health disorders	63	4.016 (1.100)	63	4.032 (0.950)	−0.142	62	−0.016	0.016	−0.240	0.208	0.888
MOUD should be supplemented by mental health counseling	71	4.521 (0.954)	71	4.549 (0.842)	−0.363	70	−0.028	0.031	−0.183	0.127	0.718
MOUD should be supplemented by participation in peer support groups	69	4.333 (0.950)	69	4.391 (0.878)	−0.754	68	−0.058	0.063	−0.212	0.096	0.454
MOUD efficacy is improved by adding mental health counseling	69	4.551 (0.796)	69	4.391 (0.973)	1.469	68	0.159	0.180	−0.057	0.376	0.146

Notes: MOUD medication for opioid use disorder. Questions asked about the MOUDs buprenorphine and methadone were compared in these results using paired samples t-tests (alpha = 0.05, two-tailed level). * indicates significance at the α = .05 level

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