What does this research mean for the field?

Experiential and contact-based interventions are the most effective strategies for reducing stigma toward individuals with opioid use disorder among clinicians and trainees, whereas didactic interventions produce only modest improvements. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To identify clinician groups targeted by anti-stigma initiatives, catalog stigma measurement instruments, and assess the comparative effectiveness of interventions designed to decrease stigma toward individuals with opioid use disorder.

September 2, 2026Substance Use &amp Addiction Journal

A Systematic Review of Interventions to Reduce Clinician Stigma Toward Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder

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Authors

KPKara J. Pavone CPCierra Penny KMKaren Jennings Mathis

Discussion

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Overview

Systematic review reveals experiential and contact-based interventions reduce opioid use disorder stigma among clinicians and trainees, highlighting the value of immersive training approaches.

Key Points

To identify clinician groups targeted by anti-stigma initiatives, catalog stigma measurement instruments, and assess the comparative effectiveness of interventions designed to decrease stigma toward individuals with opioid use disorder.
Conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines across PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL for studies published from 2020 through 2025.
Included studies evaluating anti-stigma interventions among US clinicians and healthcare trainees, assessing study quality using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice guidelines across 19 included studies (sample sizes ranging from N=5 to N=1842).
Across 19 identified studies (13 targeting students/trainees and 6 targeting practicing clinicians), interventions fell into didactic, contact-based, and experiential modalities.
Didactic education yielded only modest attitude improvements in students and showed lower efficacy among practicing clinicians, while contact-based exposure to individuals with lived experience had mixed effects in practicing clinicians.
Experiential interventions—including simulation, virtual reality, and supervised clinical encounters—consistently reduced stigma across both student and clinician cohorts.

Cite This Study

Pavone et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2b1c562ede874ec6fcb https://doi.org/10.1177/29767342261476442

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September 2, 2026Substance Use &amp Addiction Journal

A Systematic Review of Interventions to Reduce Clinician Stigma Toward Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

KPKara J. Pavone CPCierra Penny KMKaren Jennings Mathis

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Systematic review reveals experiential and contact-based interventions reduce opioid use disorder stigma among clinicians and trainees, highlighting the value of immersive training approaches.

Key Points

To identify clinician groups targeted by anti-stigma initiatives, catalog stigma measurement instruments, and assess the comparative effectiveness of interventions designed to decrease stigma toward individuals with opioid use disorder.
Conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines across PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL for studies published from 2020 through 2025.
Included studies evaluating anti-stigma interventions among US clinicians and healthcare trainees, assessing study quality using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice guidelines across 19 included studies (sample sizes ranging from N=5 to N=1842).
Across 19 identified studies (13 targeting students/trainees and 6 targeting practicing clinicians), interventions fell into didactic, contact-based, and experiential modalities.
Didactic education yielded only modest attitude improvements in students and showed lower efficacy among practicing clinicians, while contact-based exposure to individuals with lived experience had mixed effects in practicing clinicians.
Experiential interventions—including simulation, virtual reality, and supervised clinical encounters—consistently reduced stigma across both student and clinician cohorts.

Cite This Study

Pavone et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2b1c562ede874ec6fcb https://doi.org/10.1177/29767342261476442

Also Consider

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