A total of 40 participants (20 with OUD and 20 professionals) participated in the present study. Furthermore, 10 of the participants with OUD were Southern California residents before attending OUD treatment, and 10 participants with OUD were out-of-state residents before attending treatment in Southern California. Out-of-state residents came to Southern California to go to treatment and in most cases decided to live in Southern California. A combination of in-state and out-of-state residents were interviewed because a large percent of the SUD treatment population in Southern California came to treatment from out of the state.
Participants with OUD were eligible to participate in the current study if they had previously been in drug treatment at least once in Southern California after March of 2012. Further eligibility criteria for people with OUD were as follows: over the age of 18 at the time of the interview, opioids as the primary drug of use (e.g., heroin, OxyContin), self-reported misuse of opioids within the past 3 years, having health insurance at the time of treatment in Southern California, and English-speaking. Opioid misuse within the past 3 years was chosen to capture more recent use. Eligibility criteria for professionals were as follows: over the age of 18, work in the SUD treatment field, and English-speaking. Participants with OUD received $5 for participating in the current study, and no financial incentive was provided to professionals for participating in the study.
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