Investigation of Affecting Factors on Persistence in the Treatment of Patients under Methadone Maintenance Therapy in Addiction Therapy Centers, Yazd-Iran

Abstract

Drug addiction is one of the current world’s hygienic, mental and social problems. There are different treatments for this illness. MMT (Methadone Maintenance Therapy) is considered as a standard and acceptable therapy for addiction; and there are many affecting factors regarding gaining success in this type of treatment. In this study, we investigated some of these factors. One of the most important issues in MMT is to keep up patient on his/her treatment till complete abstinence; therefore, it is recommended that the patient does not leave his/her therapy without discretion of the therapist. In this study, 230 patients, who began MMT, and admitted to addiction treatment centers of Yazd province were included. In this study, the survival rate in the first, third, and sixth months were evaluated as 93.9%, 63.48%, and 28.36%, respectively. It was found that following parameters are important in rate of survival during treatment: family support, gender, dose of methadone and concomitant use of morphine during treatment. Moreover, factors like level of education, marital status, age and concomitant use of methamphetamine during treatment can be effective in this regard.