247262 Addiction Severity, Family Relationship, and Social Support among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Clients in Urban versus Rural Settings of Kunming, Yunnan

Monday, October 31, 2011

Yen-Jung Chang, MS , Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Julie Hsieh, MPH , Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Ching-Yi Peng, MS , Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Yih-ing Hser, PhD , Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Los Angeles, CA
Background: The purposes of this study are: (1) to assess addiction severity in substance use among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clients in urban and rural settings of Kunming city, Yunnan province, China; (2) to examine differences in family and social support among this population residing in different geographic areas.

Methods: Using data collected from 160 patients admitted from 2009 to 2010 in two MMT clinics, we compared clients attending urban versus rural clinics of Kunming city concerning their substance use and psychosocial problems. The Addiction Severity Index and measures of self-esteem, social support, and stigma were assessed at treatment intake. Results: Urban MMT clients were younger, more held jobs, more reported prior arrest, more had harmful or hazardous drinking problem, and had more severe drug use problem as compared to their rural counterparts. In terms of psychosocial domain, urban MMT clients reported better family relationship and social support compared to rural MMT clients. No differences in self-esteem and stigma measures were found between two groups of clients.

Conclusion: Substance-abuse treatment programs should take into consideration characteristics of clients residing in different geographic areas since they may have different service needs. In addition, further studies are needed to explore the relationship between psychosocial support and substance use among MMT clients in urban and rural Kunming.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
The purpose of this study is to examine differences in addiction severity and social support among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clients in urban and rural settings of Kunming city, Yunnan province, China.

Keywords: Substance Abuse, International

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I participated in the study, did the analysis, and wrote the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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