‘I went for rehab many times and it never worked, but the harm reduction process has given me renewed hope’. Perceptions on the effectiveness of harm reduction and community-based opioid substitution therapy

dc.contributor.authorNyashanu, Tichaenzana
dc.contributor.authorScheibe, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorVisser, Maretha
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-04T04:42:07Z
dc.date.available2024-07-04T04:42:07Z
dc.date.issued2024-07
dc.descriptionDATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data that support the findings of this study are available from University of Pretoria. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available from the author(s) with the permission of University of Pretoria.en_US
dc.description.abstractISSUE ADDRESSED : The accessibility of opioid substitution therapy (OST), one of the recommended treatments for opioid dependence, remains low. This study sought to explore the perceived effectiveness of OST from the perspectives of peer outreach workers and OST clients in a community-based harm reduction programme. METHODS : The research was done within the Community-Oriented Substance Use Programme (COSUP) in Tshwane, South Africa. Fifteen peer educators (13 males and 2 females) took part in two focus group discussions. Thereafter, there were semistructured interviews in which 15 OST clients (11 males and 4 females) participated. A convenience cross-sectional study was used. Interviews were audio-recorded. Using thematic analysis, themes were examined to evaluate how OST and the harm reduction approach were perceived to contribute to the improved health status of people with opioid dependence. RESULTS : Peer outreach workers and COSUP clients significantly endorsed OST as an effective treatment for opioid dependence. Participants perceived greater effectiveness of OST compared to abstinence-centred inpatient rehabilitation programmes. However, there were sentiments that more community education on OST was needed to motivate people with opioid dependence to access services and to address misconceptions about OST. CONCLUSIONS : There is a lack of multi-level and multi-sectoral engagement of various stakeholders in opioid dependence services, needed to accelerate utilisation of OST services. SO WHAT? The research unpacks the need for an integrated approach to service use optimisation, and the need to evaluate the role that increased awareness and community education on harm reduction strategies can play in enhancing the utilisation of OST services.en_US
dc.description.departmentFamily Medicineen_US
dc.description.departmentPsychologyen_US
dc.description.librarianam2024en_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingen_US
dc.description.urihttp://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hpjaen_US
dc.identifier.citationNyashanu, T., Scheibe, A. & Visser, M. ‘I went for rehab many times and it never worked, but the harm reduction process has given me renewed hope’. Perceptions on the effectiveness of harm reduction and community-based opioid substitution therapy. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 2024. 35(3) : 653-661. https://DOI.org/10.1002/hpja.789.en_US
dc.identifier.issn1036-1073 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2201-1617 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1002/hpja.789
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/96789
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.rights© 2023 The Authors. Health Promotion Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.en_US
dc.subjectOpioid substitution therapy (OST)en_US
dc.subjectTreatmentsen_US
dc.subjectDependenceen_US
dc.subjectCommunity-oriented substance use programme (COSUP)en_US
dc.subject.otherHealth sciences articles SDG-03
dc.subject.otherSDG-03: Good health and well-being
dc.subject.otherHealth sciences articles SDG-11
dc.subject.otherSDG-11: Sustainable cities and communities
dc.subject.otherHealth sciences articles SDG-03
dc.subject.otherSDG-03: Good health and well-being
dc.subject.otherHealth sciences articles SDG-10
dc.subject.otherSDG-10: Reduced inequalities
dc.subject.otherHealth sciences articles SDG-16
dc.subject.otherSDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
dc.title‘I went for rehab many times and it never worked, but the harm reduction process has given me renewed hope’. Perceptions on the effectiveness of harm reduction and community-based opioid substitution therapyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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