Terminology matters: patient understanding of "opioids" and "narcotics".

 The terms "opioid" and "narcotic" are often used interchangeably by healthcare providers. The purpose of this study was to compare understanding "narcotics" vs. "opioids."  A convenience sample of English-speaking women (n = 188), aged 21-45 years, seeking care at a primary care clinic were asked (1) "What is an opioid/narcotic?" (2) "Give an example of an opioid/narcotic?" (3) "Why does someone take an opioid/narcotic?" and (4) "What happens when someone takes an opioid/narcotic for a long time?" Responses were recorded verbatim by a research assistant and then coded independently by two investigators.  More than half of respondents (55.9%) responded "don't know" to all 4 opioid questions, while just 3.2% responded "don't know" to all 4 narcotic questions (P < 0.01). Most women were unfamiliar with the term opioid (76.3%) and did not know why someone would take an opioid (68.8%). About two-thirds of respondents were able to give an example of a narcotic (64.2%) and knew the consequences of long-term narcotic use (63.2%).  While more women were more familiar with narcotic, many identified negative connotations with this term. Future research should explore how to improve patient understanding and attitudes regarding both the terms opioids and narcotics. © 2012 The Authors. Pain Practice © 2012 World Institute of Pain.

Citation

Lorraine S Wallace, Amy J Keenum, Obaydah Abdurraqeeb, William F Miser, Randy K Wexler. Terminology matters: patient understanding of "opioids" and "narcotics". Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain. 2013 Feb;13(2):104-8

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PMID: 22672283

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