Effect of Drug Addiction on the Biopsychosocial Aspects of Persons with Addiction in Kuwait: Nursing Implications

Health-related quality of life and influencing factors in drug addicts based on the scale QLICD-DA: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Drug abuse has many negative effects not only on individuals but also on society. Nowadays, researchers pay a lot of attention to quality of life of drug addicts. However, there are few scales available to measure quality of life of drug addicts. The scale QLICD-DA (quality of life instrument for chronic diseases-drug addition) developed by modular approach could be used to measure quality of life of drug addicts with good validity, reliability and sensitivity.

OBJECTIVE

This study is aimed to understand the quality of life status and influencing factors in drug addicts by suitable sensitively scale, with the hypothesis of the quality of life in drug addicts being different from that of other peoples and possibly being influenced by many factors.

METHODS

By cluster random sampling method, 192 drug addicts at Kunming compulsory drug rehabilitation center were recruited to take part in the investigation. All participants completed the general information questionnaire and the scale QLICD-DA. We used a t-test to compare the scores of the quality of life of the participants with the norm (QOL scores from 1953 patients of 10 chronic diseases). A stepwise regression method was applied to explore the influencing factors of the quality of life in drug addicts.

RESULTS

192 participants ranged in age from 19 to 59 with an average age of 34.86. Most of them were male (70.3%), high school education level (67.7%) and of Han nationality (82.8%). The quality of life of drug addicts was lower than the norm in the physical domain, psychological domain, social domain, and general module, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Sex and mode of drug abuse were the influencing factors in total score (p = 0.006) and specific module (p = 0.019). Past family atmosphere and the mode of drug abuse were the influencing factors in the general module (p = 0.027, p = 0.037).

CONCLUSION

The quality of life of drug addicts was worse than that of patients with other chronic diseases, and the influencing factors of the quality of life of drug abusers were sex, mode of drug abuse, and past family atmosphere.

The characteristics and patterns of utilization of healthcare services among Omanis with substance use disorders attending therapy for cessation

BACKGROUND

It is indicated that Oman is witnessing an increase in issues pertinent to alcohol and psychoactive substance use.

AIM

The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of Omanis with substance use disorder attending a specialized hospital in Oman and the pattern of their utilization of healthcare services. A related aim was to ascertain the age group most vulnerable to alcohol and substance use in Oman.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care center specialized for treatment of those engaging in substance use in Oman. The participants in the study were selected from a convenience sample among patients seeking consultation at the center for alcohol and substance use. A six-part questionnaire was designed to obtain information regarding socio-demographic background, clinical history, healthcare utilization and perceived hurdles to access. Chi-square analyses were used to evaluate the significance of differences among categorical data. Logistic regression modelling was used to obtain measures of association after adjusting for confounding factors.

RESULTS

Among the patients (n = 293) seeking cessation therapy, 99% were male and less than 30 years of age. Peer influences on the initiation of substance use were significant. Most patients had a history of polysubstance use, including intravenous substance use. Cannabis and alcohol were the first substances consumed by most patients and Hepatitis C and psychiatric disorders were found to be the most common co-morbidities. The participants that reported use of cannabis and benzodiazepines were more likely to perceive "improvement" upon receiving treatment.

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that males below 30 years of age with a history of polysubstance use were likely to attend a hospital specialized in treating substance use disorder in Oman. This study identified information regarding socio-demographic background, risk factors and perceived hurdles to healthcare that could serve as groundwork for further studies conducted on newly emerging issues of substance use in Oman.

Does the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of addiction apply in an Islamic context? A qualitative study of Jordanian addicts in treatment

BACKGROUND

There is a dearth of research in the published literature on substance use and addiction in the Middle East and Islamic countries. This study was the first to explore whether the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of addiction was relevant to an addicted treatment population in Jordan, an Islamic country.

METHODS

A qualitative study design using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sample of 25 males in addiction treatment. The sample was drawn from a cohort of in-patients at a treatment centre in Amman, Jordan who had already participated in a quantitative survey. A purposive sample was selected to ensure the inclusion of a range of characteristics that might affect their experience of developing addiction and its consequences, i.e., age, marital status and educational level. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis conducted using verbatim quotes to illustrate themes. Themes were mapped onto the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of addiction.

RESULTS

This study found addiction was associated with a range of health (physical and psychological), social and spiritual factors. Unpleasant physical withdrawal effects, psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and suicide attempts, were experienced. There was breakdown in marital and family relations, loss of employment, involvement in crime and neglect of religious practices, resulting in social isolation.

CONCLUSION

This study found that, despite some differences in emphasis, the biopsychosocial, spiritual model of addiction fit wel,l particularly given the relative importance of religion in Islamic culture. Spirituality was not explored and further study of spirituality versus religious practice in this culture is recommended.

Mental illness research in the Gulf Cooperation Council: a scoping review

Rapid growth and development in recent decades has seen mental health and mental illness emerge as priority health concerns for the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). As a result, mental health services in the region are being redefined and expanded. However, there is a paucity of local research to guide ongoing service development. Local research is important because service users’ experience of mental illness and mental health services are linked to their sociocultural context. In order for service development to be most effective, there is a need for increased understanding of the people who use these services.

This article aims to review and synthesize mental health research from the Gulf Cooperation Council. It also seeks to identify gaps in the literature and suggest directions for future research. A scoping framework was used to conduct this review. To identify studies, database searches were undertaken, regional journals were hand-searched, and reference lists of included articles were examined. Empirical studies undertaken in the Gulf Cooperation Council that reported mental health service users’ experience of mental illness were included. Framework analysis was used to synthesize results. Fifty-five studies met inclusion criteria and the following themes were identified: service preferences, illness (symptomology, perceived cause, impact), and recovery (traditional healing, family support, religion). Gaps included contradictory findings related to the supportive role of the Arabic extended family and religion, under-representation of women in study samples, and limited attention on illness management outside of the hospital setting.

From this review, it is clear that the sociocultural context in the region is linked to service users’ experience of mental illness. Future research that aims to fill the identified gaps and develop and test culturally appropriate interventions will aid practice and policy development in the region.

Differences between 1-month quitters and relapsers in biospsychosocial characteristics among male smokers in Korea

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast biopsychosocial characteristics and processes of change (POC) between 1-month quitters and relapsers among male smokers in Korea.

METHODS

This study employed a prospective study design. Forty-one male smokers were recruited on one university campus. The instruments used in this study included blood pressure (BP), body mass index, salivary cortisol, perceived stress, self-efficacy, and POC. After collection of baseline data, participants were encouraged to adopt smoking cessation, either by obtaining smoking cessation counseling or self-abstinence. Baseline data and data collected after 1 month from smoking cessation were compared.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 24.9 years (SD = 1.90 years), and 51.2% were overweight or obese. According to results of the study, SBP, DBP, and perceived stress were significantly lower, whereas self-efficacy was significantly higher among quitters, compared with relapsers, after 1 month (p < .05). Results of within-group comparison indicated that, among POC, self-liberation, helping relationship, and reinforcement management showed a significant decrease among 1-month relapsers (p < .05), whereas, counter conditioning showed a significant increase among 1-month quitters (p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

According to the results of this study, BP and perceived stress showed a significant decrease among 1-month quitters, whereas those less likely to utilize behavioral processes were more likely to have relapsed after 1 month.