Masson CL, Chen IQ, Levine JA, Shopshire MS, Sorensen JL. (2019). Health-related internet use among opioid treatment patients. Addictive Behaviors Reports. 9. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2018.100157
Researchers evaluated mobile phone and internet use in 178 opioid dependent adults receiving methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) to better understand use of the internet to seek health information by this population. Patients at a MMT facility were approached in the waiting room and completed assessments after receiving their dose of medication. Participants completed assessments of internet use (frequency, duration, mode), online health information seeking, mobile phone ownership and use, mobile phone service information (interruptions in service, plan details), technology acceptance, health literacy, substance use, and health status. All participants reported owning a mobile phone in the past year, and 87% currently owning a mobile phone. The majority (94%) owned a smartphone. Most participants (74%) reported primarily accessing the internet using a mobile device and 67% of participants reported using the internet every day. The majority of participants (88%) had used the internet to seek health information in the past 3 months, with more than half the entire sample (52%) reporting using the internet to seek health information at least 6 times in the past 3 months. Participants who were younger, employed, and reported higher acceptance of technology were more likely to use the internet to seek health information than their counterparts. Researchers emphasize that understanding barriers to using digital technology in people engaged in treatment for opioid dependence could help promote digital health access for this population.