Subtheme 3c: HCV diagnosis as shameful
opioid addiction
DISORDER
As participants progress through treatment for opioid addiction, they develop self‐awareness of the misunderstandings of substance use disorder, associated comorbid conditions such as HCV, and of the negative attitudes held by people outside of the OTP. ‘They think that because you're on methadone, you're sh**, you're dirt, you're lower than low’.Participants' narratives portrayed feelings of embarrassment and doom related to a diagnosis of HCV. ‘[HCV] is not only dirty but disgusting, because people may think that anyone that got [it] was using needles for drugs’. Because of these sentiments, some participants initially delayed seeking HCV treatment. ‘I didn't tell anybody, no family members or anything’. Because of HCV‐related shame and stigma, patients do not feel comfortable discussing an HCV diagnosis with others and voiced their concerns related to privacy and confidentiality surrounding an HCV diagnosis and treatment.