Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India
Background: Individuals with opioid dependence experience stigma and discrimination. Stigma can potentially reduce treatment-seeking and negatively affect treatment outcomes. We aimed to study the course of stigma and its correlates among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Methods: W...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176211012103 |
| _version_ | 1818202919288176640 |
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| author | Abhishek Ghosh Fazle Roub Renjith R. Pillai Tathagata Mahintamani Debasish Basu B.N. Subodh S.K. Mattoo |
| author_facet | Abhishek Ghosh Fazle Roub Renjith R. Pillai Tathagata Mahintamani Debasish Basu B.N. Subodh S.K. Mattoo |
| author_sort | Abhishek Ghosh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Individuals with opioid dependence experience stigma and discrimination. Stigma can potentially reduce treatment-seeking and negatively affect treatment outcomes. We aimed to study the course of stigma and its correlates among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Methods: We recruited 51 subjects (aged between 18 and 45 years) registered in the OAT clinic from February to September 2019. We excluded subjects dependent on alcohol and other drugs (except for cannabis and tobacco), with severe mental illness, intellectual disability, and organic brain disease. We assessed the internalized and enacted stigma and quality of life at the treatment entry and after 3 months. Relationship of stigma with quality of life, socio-demographic, and other clinical variables were examined at the treatment entry. Results: Mean age of the subjects was 26.7 (± 5) years. At the end of three months, 33 (64.7%) patients were retained in the treatment. Internalized stigma correlated negatively with the social and environmental domains of quality of life. The strength of the correlations was modest. No significant correlation was found between demographic and clinical variables and internalized stigma and enacted stigma scores. Both internalized and enacted stigma scores reduced significantly at 3 months follow-up. The significance levels were retained even after controlling for the baseline quality of life scores. Stigma at the treatment entry did not predict early dropout. Conclusion: Despite higher severity at the treatment entry, the level of internalized and enacted stigma reduced significantly within three months of an outpatient-based OAT program. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:17:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cfa9bafffc4142f188e0abf469a1851a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0253-7176 0975-1564 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:17:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-cfa9bafffc4142f188e0abf469a1851a2022-12-22T00:40:15ZengSAGE PublishingIndian Journal of Psychological Medicine0253-71760975-15642022-05-014410.1177/02537176211012103Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in IndiaAbhishek Ghosh0Fazle Roub1Renjith R. Pillai2Tathagata Mahintamani3Debasish Basu4B.N. Subodh5S.K. Mattoo6 Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Dept. of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.Background: Individuals with opioid dependence experience stigma and discrimination. Stigma can potentially reduce treatment-seeking and negatively affect treatment outcomes. We aimed to study the course of stigma and its correlates among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Methods: We recruited 51 subjects (aged between 18 and 45 years) registered in the OAT clinic from February to September 2019. We excluded subjects dependent on alcohol and other drugs (except for cannabis and tobacco), with severe mental illness, intellectual disability, and organic brain disease. We assessed the internalized and enacted stigma and quality of life at the treatment entry and after 3 months. Relationship of stigma with quality of life, socio-demographic, and other clinical variables were examined at the treatment entry. Results: Mean age of the subjects was 26.7 (± 5) years. At the end of three months, 33 (64.7%) patients were retained in the treatment. Internalized stigma correlated negatively with the social and environmental domains of quality of life. The strength of the correlations was modest. No significant correlation was found between demographic and clinical variables and internalized stigma and enacted stigma scores. Both internalized and enacted stigma scores reduced significantly at 3 months follow-up. The significance levels were retained even after controlling for the baseline quality of life scores. Stigma at the treatment entry did not predict early dropout. Conclusion: Despite higher severity at the treatment entry, the level of internalized and enacted stigma reduced significantly within three months of an outpatient-based OAT program.https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176211012103 |
| spellingShingle | Abhishek Ghosh Fazle Roub Renjith R. Pillai Tathagata Mahintamani Debasish Basu B.N. Subodh S.K. Mattoo Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine |
| title | Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India |
| title_full | Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India |
| title_fullStr | Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India |
| title_short | Course and Correlates of Stigma in Patients on Opioid Agonist Treatment: A Prospective Study from an Outpatient Treatment Program in India |
| title_sort | course and correlates of stigma in patients on opioid agonist treatment a prospective study from an outpatient treatment program in india |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176211012103 |
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