dc.contributor.author |
Scheibe, Andrew
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Shelly, Shaun
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Gerardy, Tara
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Von Homeyer, Zara
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Schneider, Andrea
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Padayachee, Kalvanya
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Naidoo, Shalon Balaguru
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Mtshweni, Klaas
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Matau, Ayanda
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Hausler, Harry
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Marks, Monique
|
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2020-04-07T12:04:16Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2020-04-07T12:04:16Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2020-02-21 |
|
dc.description.abstract |
BACKGROUND : Emerging data points to a potential heroin use epidemic in South Africa. Despite this, access to methadone
maintenance therapy and other evidence-based treatment options remains negligible. We aimed to assess
retention, changes in substance use and quality of life after 6 months on methadone maintenance therapy provided
through a low-threshold service in Durban, South Africa.
METHODS : We enrolled a cohort of 54 people with an opioid use disorder into the study. We reviewed and described
baseline socio-demographic characteristics. Baseline and 6-month substance use was assessed using the World
Health Organization’s Alcohol Smoking and Substance Use Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and quality of life,
using the SF-12. We compared changes at 6 months on methadone to baseline using the Wilcoxon signed rank test
and paired-tests for the ASSIST and SF-12 scores, respectively. McNemar’s test was used for comparisons between
paired results of categorical variables relating to injecting frequency.
RESULTS : The majority of the participants were young, Black African males, with a history of drug use spanning over
10 years. Retention after 6 months was 81%. After 6 months, the median heroin ASSIST score decreased from 37 to 9
(p < 0.0001) and the cannabis ASSIST score increased from 12.5 to 21 (p = 0.0003). The median mental health composite
score of the SF-12 increased from 41.4 to 48.7 (p = 0.0254).
CONCLUSIONS : Interim findings suggest high retention, significant reductions in heroin use and improvements in
mental health among participants retained on methadone maintenance therapy for 6 months. Further research into
longer term outcomes and the reasons contributing to these changes would strengthen recommendations for the
scale-up of methadone maintenance therapy in South Africa. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.department |
Family Medicine |
en_ZA |
dc.description.librarian |
am2020 |
en_ZA |
dc.description.sponsorship |
The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Open Society
Foundation, Mainline through the Bridging the Gaps project. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.uri |
https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.com |
en_ZA |
dc.identifier.citation |
Scheibe, A., Shelly, S., Gerardy, T. et al. 2020, 'Six‑month retention and changes in quality
of life and substance use from a low‑threshold
methadone maintenance therapy programme
in Durban, South Africa', Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, vol. 15, art. 13, pp. 1-11. |
en_ZA |
dc.identifier.issn |
1940-0632 (print) |
|
dc.identifier.issn |
1940-0640 (online) |
|
dc.identifier.other |
10.1186/s13722-020-00186-7 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/74076 |
|
dc.language.iso |
en |
en_ZA |
dc.publisher |
BioMed Central |
en_ZA |
dc.rights |
© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Heroin use |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Opioid use |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Opioid agonist treatment |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Methadone maintenance therapy |
en_ZA |
dc.title |
Six‑month retention and changes in quality of life and substance use from a low‑threshold methadone maintenance therapy programme in Durban, South Africa |
en_ZA |
dc.type |
Article |
en_ZA |