"Health Is on the Back Burner:" Multilevel Barriers and Facilitators to Primary Care Among People Who Inject Drugs

Background: The estimated 2.2 million people who inject drugs (PWID) in the USA experience significant gaps in preventive healthcare and a high burden of infectious, psychiatric, and other chronic diseases. Many PWID rely on emergency medical services, which are costly and not designed to deliver preventive services, manage chronic conditions, or address social needs.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to primary care utilization from the perspectives of PWID in New England, a region highly affected by the overdose crisis.

Design: Participants completed semi-structured qualitative interviews exploring substance use and healthcare utilization patterns.

Participants: We recruited 78 PWID through community-based organizations (e.g., syringe service programs) in 16 urban and non-urban communities throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Approach: Thematic analysis identified barriers and facilitators to primary care utilization at the individual, interpersonal, and systemic levels.

Key results: Among 78 PWID, 48 described recent primary care experiences; 33 had positive experiences and 15 described negative experiences involving discrimination or mistrust. Individual-level barriers to primary care utilization included perceived lack of need and competing priorities (e.g., avoiding opioid withdrawal, securing shelter beds). Interpersonal-level barriers included stigma and perceived low quality of care for PWID. Systemic-level barriers included difficulty navigating healthcare systems, inadequate transportation, long wait times, and frequent provider turnover. Participants with positive primary care experiences explained how appointment reminders, flexible hours, addiction medicine-trained providers, case management services, and transportation support facilitated primary care utilization and satisfaction.

Conclusions: Findings regarding the multilevel barriers and facilitators to accessing primary care among PWID identify potential targets for programmatic interventions to improve primary care utilization in this population. Based on these findings, we make recommendations for improving the engagement of PWID in primary care as a means to advance individual and public health outcomes.