title: A satisfaction survey of opioid-dependent clients at methadone treatment centres in Spain.
abstract: A survey was carried out to evaluate the satisfaction with methadone treatment centres of methadone-maintained opioid-dependent patients from Spain. Independent interviewers asked 505 consecutively arriving clients from 20 randomly selected centres (14 conventional centres, two bus units, and four prisons) to participate; 370 (73.3%) clients agreed to fill out the questionnaire, and 351 (69.5%) completed it. Satisfaction was assessed using the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale for methadone treatment (VSSS-MT). The prison sub-sample (n=43) was excluded from overall analysis because survey acceptance and satisfaction was very different in prisons than in the other centres. Mean overall satisfaction in the non-prison sub-sample (n=308) was 3.5 (S.D.=0.6) on a 1-5 point scale (1=terrible; 5=excellent). The percentage of these clients who felt dissatisfied (VSSS-MT scores: < or =3) and satisfied (VSSS-MT scores: >3) was, by category: overall satisfaction, 15.9% dissatisfied, 84.1% satisfied; basic interventions, 16.0% versus 84.0%; specific interventions, 45.4% versus 54.6%; social worker skills, 33.8% versus 66.2%; psychologist skills, 38.5% versus 61.5%. The number of hours per week that the centre dispensed methadone was the only variable able to predict satisfaction. This regression model accounted for only 2.5% of the variance in VSSS-MT overall scores. These results show that Spanish clients are slightly satisfied with conventional centres and bus units, although they fail to detect specific variables that are strongly related to that satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: Addictive Behaviours Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona Autonomous University School of Medicine, Sant Antoni Ma Claret 167, 08025 Barcelona, Spain. jperezc@hsp.santpau.es
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez de los Cobos
authors.forename: Guila
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fidel
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Escuder
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haro
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Valderrama
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valero
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trujols
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008691:Methadone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009294:Narcotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013030:Spain; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D008691:Methadone