"It's a delicate balance": clinicians' experiences of providing heroin-assisted treatment.

Background: Little attention has been paid to the experiences of clinicians and health personnel who provide heroin-assisted treatment (HAT). This study provides the first empirical findings about the clinicians' experiences of providing HAT in the Norwegian context.

Methods: 23 qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 clinicians shortly after HAT clinics opened in Norway's two largest cities: Oslo and Bergen.

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The use of heroin in treatment of people with opioid addiction is new in Norway. The heroin clinics marks a clear break with the drug policy and treatment of the last decades. This article describes the changes in state authorities’ understanding of the “drug problem” and how it should be managed, where the heroin clinics are explored as a manifestation of this transformative shift.

Evaluation of heroin-assisted treatment in Norway: protocol for a mixed methods study.

Background: Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) has a convincing evidence base, although variable retention rates suggest that it may not be beneficial for all. One of the options to include more patients is the introduction of heroin-assisted treatment (HAT), which involves the prescribing of pharmaceutical heroin in a clinical supervised setting. Clinical trials suggest that HAT positively affects illicit drug use, criminal behavior, quality of life, and health.

Patients' satisfaction with heroin-assisted treatment: a qualitative study.

Background: Heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) involves supervised dispensing of medical heroin (diacetylmorphine) for people with opioid use disorder. Clinical evidence has demonstrated the effectiveness of HAT, but little is known about the self-reported satisfaction among the patients who receive this treatment. This study presents the first empirical findings about the patients' experiences of, and satisfaction with, HAT in the Norwegian context.