Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Patient perspectives on medications for alcohol use disorder: A systematic scoping review.

Tomlinson DC, Florimbio AR, Lee CA, Ilgen MA, Lin LA, Coughlin LN. Patient perspectives on medications for alcohol use disorder: A systematic scoping review. Alcohol, clinical & experimental research. 2025 Mar 11 DOI: 10.1111/acer.70022.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

Front-line treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) include psychotherapy and medication, and both treatments are underused. However, utilization rates of medications for alcohol use disorder (MAUD) are particularly low. The goal of the present scoping review is to characterize patient perspectives about MAUD to identify barriers to MAUD and potential areas of future work to increase access, initiation, and retention on MAUD. Searches of titles and abstracts were conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL until March 2024 with patient perspective-, MAUD-, and alcohol-related keywords. Articles were assessed for eligibility and included in the present review if they examined adult patients'' perspectives of MAUD. Fourteen studies were included in the review. The majority of patient populations assessed were individuals with AUD, and most studies evaluated MAUD in general (n = 7) or specific medications (i.e., naltrexone, n = 5; disulfiram, n = 2; acamprosate, n = 1). Important themes related to patient-perceived barriers to MAUD were identified, including a lack of awareness and misunderstanding about the effectiveness and effects of MAUD, apprehensiveness or experience with side effects, and perceived stigma of MAUD. Future work incorporating patient perspectives of MAUD into interventions and strategies may help improve MAUD uptake, including person-centered discussions factoring in unique patient perspectives about MAUD to increase patient MAUD knowledge and reduce MAUD stigma.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.