Perceptions of Methadone Maintained Clients About Barriers and Facilitators to Help-Seeking Behavior

What Is The Purpose of This Study?

• • To obtain perspectives of methadone clients (n = 41) who were also heavy drinkers on the barriers and facilitators to seeking medical assistance to improve their own health.

What Is the Problem?

• • There are over 3 million Americans aged 12 or older who are dependent on or abuse both illicit drugs and alcohol. Fewer than 25% of these users enter drug or alcohol treatment, however.

• • Little research exists that describes the barriers and facilitators to seeking medical assistance among this population of drug and alcohol users.

What Are the Findings?

• • Clients felt stigmatized and "looked down upon" by medical providers and, as a result, often chose not to tell providers they were on methadone maintenance.

• • Clients expressed an interest in having alcohol treatment offered within methadone clinics.

• • Nonjudgmental, empathetic care that fosters respect and facilitates help-seeking behavior were viewed as important, yet often lacking, characteristics of medical clinic staff

Who Should Care Most?

• • Methadone maintenance programs.

• • Substance abuse providers, physicians, and nurse-practitioners serving methadone-addicted clients.

• • Individuals responsible for training nursing, medical, and allied health professionals.

Recommendations for Action

• • Include alcohol addiction treatment in methadone maintenance programs, or have methadone maintenance programs more formally partner with external substance abuse treatment programs.

• • Provide education for health care and social service providers on alcohol and drug abuse, especially methadone, and create standards to increase provider expertise.

• • Provide funding for research to compare the treatment and outcomes, including patient/client satisfaction, of those treated in methadone settings versus treatment in private physicians' offices.