Access, structure and outcome of methadone maintenance treatment program in Ruili China

Located on the border between China and Myanmar, Ruili is near the "Golden Triangle", where drug smuggling and spread of AIDS are two main threats to people's health. Ruili is the place about 75 percent of China's first HIV/AIDS cases were found in 1989 among intravenous drug users. Till Nov. 2007, 4137 were tested HIV positive. The epidemic has been associated with great harm and loss of lives.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) program was legalized by the Chinese government in 2004 to help addicts break their addiction and promote harm reduction. The methadone clinic in Ruili was opened in June 2005; the local CDC was the first in China to use mobile vans as a complement to improve access to MMT services in rural areas from Nov. 2006. Two outreach sites were set up in the countryside from 2009.

This study describes the history, organization structure, characteristics of the service users, examines factors associated with access to services, and assesses the outcomes and challenges of the MMT clinics and mobile vans from health service administrators' perspective in order to improve access and sustainability of the service.