Perceived barriers to methadone maintenance treatment among Iranian opioid users

Opioid use is a severe problem in Iran. Despite methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs being one of the most important treatment strategies for reducing individual and public harms associated with opioid use, a large proportion of Iranian patients refuse to participate in such treatment prog...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal for equity in health 2018-06, Vol.17 (1), p.75-75, Article 75
Main Authors: Khazaee-Pool, Maryam, Moeeni, Maryam, Ponnet, Koen, Fallahi, Arezoo, Jahangiri, Leila, Pashaei, Tahereh
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Addicts
Adult
Alcohol
Attitudes
Care and treatment
Clinical outcomes
Cost control
DNA Helicases
Drug use
Female
Health aspects
Hepatitis
Heroin
Human capital
Humans
Iran
Iranians
Male
Methadone
Methadone - adverse effects
Methadone - therapeutic use
Methadone maintenance
Methadone maintenance treatment
Middle Aged
Narcotics
Opiate Substitution Treatment - economics
Opiate Substitution Treatment - methods
Opiate Substitution Treatment - psychology
Opioid abuse
Opioid users
Opioid-Related Disorders - drug therapy
Opioids
Patients
Perceived barriers
Perception
Prices and rates
Public health
Side effects
Social Stigma
Socioeconomic Factors
Studies
Substance abuse treatment
Therapy
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Summary:Opioid use is a severe problem in Iran. Despite methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs being one of the most important treatment strategies for reducing individual and public harms associated with opioid use, a large proportion of Iranian patients refuse to participate in such treatment programs. The present study aims to explore the beliefs and attitudes toward MMT programs of opioid-dependent patients who were participating or had participated in methadone therapy. In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 opioid users between 27 and 58 years of age from Kurdistan provinces. Overall, six themes were discovered to be key barriers relating to methadone treatment, including financial barriers related to methadone treatment, lack of awareness about methadone treatment, negative attitudes regarding using methadone, worries about methadone's side effects, social stigma ascribed to methadone therapy, and systemic barriers to methadone treatment. Our study revealed that the cost of treatment is a major obstacle to attending and continuing at MMT programs and that addicts and their families are not always accurately informed about the duration of MMT programs and the side effects of methadone treatment.
ISSN:1475-9276
1475-9276
DOI:10.1186/s12939-018-0787-z