Mobile van delivery of extended-release buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone for youth with OUD: An adaptation to the COVID-19 emergency.

Abstract

The Youth Opioid Recovery Support (YORS) intervention is a novel treatment for young adults with opioid use disorder (OUD) that uses developmentally informed strategies to reduce barriers to treatment engagement. YORS strategies, such as home delivery of extended-release buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone for OUD, are designed to increase engagement in treatment, but with the COVID-19 pandemic these strategies increase risk of virus exposure and spread to patients and staff entering homes. We present mobile van service delivery as a potential solution to continuing to provide low-barrier care for young adults with OUD while reducing risk associated with COVID-19. Initial feedback from patients and staff is positive and lays the groundwork to test feasibility and acceptability of this intervention rigorously in future work. Mobile van delivery of extended-release medications for OUD may be a promising treatment modification for mitigating risk of COVID-19, as well as a useful option for ongoing enhancement of care.