Pre-Treatment Drug Use Characteristics and Experiences among Patients in a Voluntary Substance Abuse Treatment Center in Malaysia
BACKGROUND:
Drug
use in Malaysia remains a significant public health and social problem despite
implementation of harsh punitive drug policies such as forcibly placing
suspected drug users into compulsory drug detention centers (CDDCs). Following
criticism over human right violations in CDDCs, Malaysia has begun to
transition towards voluntary drug treatment centers known as Cure & Care
(C&C) Centers. To best serve the needs of regional C&Cs, data on drug
use are essential among patients accessing treatment. Using a mixed methods
approach, we examined pre-treatment drug use characteristics and experiences
with addiction treatment among C&C patients in Kelantan - a religiously
conservative state in Northeast Malaysia with high prevalence of drug use but
where limited data are available on drug use patterns.
METHODS:
A mixed
methods study utilizing surveys (N = 96) and semi-structured interviews (N =
20) was conducted among a convenience sample of inpatients and outpatients at
the Pengkalan Chepa C&C Center in Kelantan.
RESULTS:
Survey
results showed 89.6% of participants met screening criteria for moderate to
severe addiction severity. Nearly 90% reported lifetime illicit amphetamine
(syabu, meth, ice, and pil kuda) use followed by alcohol (60.4%) and opioids
(52.1%). Qualitative results pointed to the powerful influence of peer networks
in drug initiation and relapse, and the positive effect of the C&C on drug
rehabilitation.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
drug use profile of the Kelantan C&C enrollees shows extensive
pre-treatment amphetamine use, polysubstance use, and injection drug use
including high-risk behaviors such as sharing needles, syringes and containers.
Evidence points to the need for integration of social support-oriented
practices and behavioral interventions into the rehabilitation of drug users in
this region.
- 1 University at Albany, State University of New York , Department of Communication , Albany , New York , USA.
- 2 Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine , Section of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Program , New Haven , Connecticut , USA.
- 3 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York , New York , USA.
- 4 Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
- 5 Yale University School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases , New Haven , Connecticut , USA.
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