Discriminative Nursing Care Practices Towards Patients with Opioid Use Disorder in the Hospital Setting: An Integrative Review

Discriminative nursing care (DNC) is the act of a nurse treating a patient differently from another patient based on the patient’s illness, diagnosis, lifestyle, personal choices, age, or socio-demographic status. As such, the patient perceives a variation in treatment. Health-related stigma and stereotyping contribute to DNC, especially towards patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) during hospitalization. This integrative review considered recent relevant literature related to DNC practices towards patients with OUD in the hospital setting to identify discriminatory actions and potential causes and to provide known and new recommendations to address DNC practices towards this patient population. Literature from 2016-2022 (n = 13) was searched and analyzed, revealing four emerging themes: Patients’ Perceptions of DNC, Nurses and Other Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of DNC, Nurses’ Lack of Understanding, and Recommendations for Improvement. In this article, we discuss specific findings related to each theme, gaps in the current literature, additional recommendations, and important considerations for future research.