Methadone Treatment Programme users perception of the accessibility and care received from the therapeutic teams
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20882/adicciones.332Keywords:
Methadone, Opiate Addiction Treatment, Qualitative methodology, Patients, Patients / MT relationshipAbstract
Background: This study explores the type of care and the therapeutic treatment provided at drug treatment centres located in two Spanish cities, as perceived by methadone treatment (MT) users. It provides key aspects to improve the ability of MT programmes to prevent relapses and premature discharges from treatment, and to facilitate users’ social reintegration. Methods: Exploratory qualitative study based on semistructured interviews among 30 MT programme users in the cities of Barcelona and Granada. Results: The care provided by therapeutic teams relies on 3 main intervention areas: medical, psychological and social care. The central role attributed to the physicians in users’ discourses reflects the relevance assigned to the methadone and to its medical prescription. Almost 60% of users had visited their prescribing doctor at least once in the previous three months, 22% their psychologist, and only 6% their social worker. Users interviewed mentioned the absence of a comprehensive and individualized assessment of their social integration, the lack of resources adapted to their individual needs (housing, employment, training and basic needs), and the lack of family implication where they felt that psychologists and social workers could play a much more relevant role than at present. Conclusions: Despite the generally positive outcomes of the MT, its main limitation lies in the lack of a comprehensive approach to users’ individual needs. Strengthening biopsychosocial intervention emerges as an essential prerequisite to progress towards users’ rehabilitation and reinsertion.References
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