Assessment of an abstinence-oriented, outpatient drug addiction service in Greece.
The 'Athena' service is an abstinence-oriented, outpatient substance addiction unit in Greece. To appraise the operation of the service, 459 clients who contacted the unit during a 3-yr. period were assessed in terms of treatment retention and situation upon discharge from the program; 182 of them had four or more appointments with the service and were thoroughly assessed using a battery of measures pertaining to their situation at discharge and their patterns of abuse and related problems. Most help-seekers were single, unemployed, young men who regularly used heroin (89%) intravenously (35%). From those who got involved in the therapeutic process (40%), 72% had positively modified their drug abuse by the time of discharge from the program (mean duration of treatment: approx. three months); the largest improvement (42%) was recorded in their psychological condition. Treatment retention was significantly higher for cannabis abusers than heroin addicts; longer treatment duration was significantly associated with a positive situation at discharge, while higher education was associated with a less favorable outcome regarding the abuse of the principal substance. These findings suggest that such outpatient programs may help a significant number of individuals who get involved in the therapeutic process and should be considered effective for treatment of substance abuse among the diversity of treatment modalities.
Paparrigopoulos
Thomas
T
Athens University Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, 74 Vas. Sofias Ave. 115 28 Athens, Greece. Thomas.Paparrigopoulos@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Liappas
John
J
Mellos
Eleftherios
E
Rabavilas
Andreas
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires