A greater proportion of Whites indicated increases in alcohol consumption and non-prescription drug use than did racial-ethnic minorities. Treatment providers must be vigilant in managing direct and indirect outcomes of COVID-19 among people with OUD. Findings highlight the need to develop culturally competent, differentiated interventions in partnership with community-based organizations to meet the unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents for people in treatment for OUD.Treatment providers must be vigilant in managing direct and indirect outcomes of COVID-19 among people with OUD. Findings highlight the need to develop culturally competent, differentiated interventions in partnership with community-based organizations to meet the unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents for people in treatment for OUD. The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Prescription Opioid-Use Disorder (POUD) have undergone some significant changes. One of the most controversial changes has been the elimination of the withdrawal symptoms criterion when opioid use is under appropriate medical supervision. For this reason, the goal of this study was to analyze factors associated with opioid withdrawal in patients with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP). This cross-sectional descriptive study involved 404 patients who use prescription opioids for long-term treatment (≥90days) of CNCP. Measures included sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, POUD, withdrawal symptoms, craving, anxiety-depressive symptoms, and pain intensity and interference. Forty-seven percent (n=193) of the sample reported moderate-severe withdrawal symptoms, which were associated with lower age, higher daily morphine dose and duration of treatment with opioids, moderate-severe POUD, use of psychotropic drugs, higher anxiety-depressive symptoms, and greater pain intensity and interference (p<.05). Ponatinib supplier Binary logistic regression analysis showed that moderate-severe POUD (OR=2.82), anxiety (OR=2.21), depression (OR=1.81), higher pain interference (OR=1.05), and longer duration of treatment with opioids were the strongest factors associated with moderate-severe withdrawal symptoms (p<.05). Psychological factors seem to play a key role in the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Since greater intensity of these symptoms increases the risk of developing POUD, knowing the factors associated with withdrawal may be useful in developing preventive psychological interventions.Psychological factors seem to play a key role in the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Since greater intensity of these symptoms increases the risk of developing POUD, knowing the factors associated with withdrawal may be useful in developing preventive psychological interventions.The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered changes in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment delivery system, in the availability of legal and illicit drugs, and in other social and economic factors. As such, these changes necessitate that the field re-evaluate research approaches to SUDs, including in epidemiology, clinical trials, health services, implementation and policy research, as well as basic and translational neuroscience. COVID-19 has reduced researchers' access to target populations and made it difficult for them to obtain timely data to monitor changes in patterns of drug use and overdoses. These changes have increased researchers' interest in virtual technologies to expand and accelerate access to populations; increased modifications in the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials; and increased emphasis on implementation. Similarly, as researchers better understand the biology of COVID-19, they will better understand potential effects of COVID-19 on neurotransmitter receptors and signaling pathways, mechanisms underlying COVID-19 associated neurological and psychiatric sequelae, and interactions between COVID-19 treatments and psychoactive substances. The pandemic has also revealed the need for research that addresses health disparities. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged several aspects of current research on SUD. Responding to these challenges provides opportunities to develop robust research approaches that align with the goals of improving patient outcomes and public health and are resilient to the challenges of future crises. To quantify weekly rates of use of buprenorphine for those with employer-based insurance and whether the rate differs based on county-level measures of race, historical fatal drug overdose rate, and COVID-19 case rate. We used 2020 pharmaceutical claims for 4.8 million adults from a privately insured population to examine changes in the use of buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder in 2020 during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We quantified variation by examining changes in use rates across counties based on their fatal drug overdose rate in 2018, number of COVID-19 cases per capita, and percent nonwhite. Weekly use of buprenorphine was relatively stable between the first week of January (0.6 per 10,000 enrollees, 95%CI=0.2 to 1.1) and the last week of August (0.8 per 10,000 enrollees, 95%CI=0.4 to 1.3). We did not find evidence of any consistent change in use of buprenorphine by county-level terciles for COVID-19 rate as of August 31, 2020, age-adjusted fatal drug overdose rate, and percent nonwhite. Use was consistently higher for counties in the highest tercile of county age-adjusted fatal drug overdose rate when compared to counties in the lowest tercile of county age-adjusted fatal drug overdose rate. Our results provide early evidence that new federal- and state-level policies may have steadied the rate of using buprenorphine for those with employer-based insurance during the pandemic.Our results provide early evidence that new federal- and state-level policies may have steadied the rate of using buprenorphine for those with employer-based insurance during the pandemic.This study surveyed substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, medical treatment providers, and a public sample about beliefs regarding health care incentives to explore differences among the groups and across health disorders for which research has demonstrated incentives improve outcomes. Six hundred participants (n = 200/group) completed the Provider Survey of Incentives. The study found between group differences for positive and negative beliefs. The public sample was highest on the positive beliefs subscale (M = 3.81), followed by SUD (M = 3.63) and medical treatment providers (M = 3.48; F(2, 597) = 20.09, p  less then  .001). The medical treatment providers were highest on the negative beliefs subscale (M = 2.91), compared to the public sample (M = 2.77) and SUD treatment providers (M = 2.65; F(2, 597) = 7.521, p  less then  .001). Endorsement of incentives to treat medical disorders was similar across the groups, with obesity the most endorsed disorder. In contrast, endorsement of incentives to treat SUDs differed across groups, except for smoking.