Poor results for methadone programme in Scotland, report researchers
Questions over the effectiveness of the methadone programme in Scotland
were posed this week by researchers from Glasgow.
Results from the Drug Outcome Research in Scotland (DORIS) study show
that only 8 per cent of drug users become drug-free after nearly three
years on a methadone programme. The researchers, led by Neil McKeganey,
centre for drug misuse research, University of Glasgow, comment that
this level of abstinence is substantially lower than that identified
in England.
The study involved 695 injecting drug users who accessed drug treatment
services in Scotland. They were surveyed 33 months after starting treatment
to find out how many were drug-free for the 90 days before the survey
interview.
The results show 6 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men were drug-free.
Those who were abstinent were more likely to have been on an educational
course, be in employment or have experienced residential rehabilitation.
The researchers then compared the results with those of the National
Drug Treatment Outcome Study in England. It defined abstinence to include
use of prescribed substitute methadone. When the researchers applied
this definition to the Scottish study population, abstinence levels were
33 per cent for people in residential rehabilitation and 11 per cent
for those on methadone maintenance. This compared with 36 per cent and
24 per cent, respectively, in England. The study will be published in
Drugs:
education, prevention and policy. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader