BackgroundThe current prevalence rate of substance abuse and dependence, represents an increasing trend of substance abuse and dependence among women, and the results of epidemiology studies indicate that substance use patterns are different between men and women. This study aimed to determine gender differences in substance use patterns and disorders among the patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted throughout a specified time bracket ranging from September 2012 through March 2013 in Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) clinics of Mashhad, Iran. In this study, 140 men and 120 women were selected from among the patients referring to MMT clinics in Mashhad through purposeful sampling method. The sample units were assessed using a demographic information questionnaire and Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (SCID). The data were then analyzed by Chi Square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Independent-samples t-test. SPSS software 16 was used to conduct statistical analyses with P values less than 0.05 regarded as significant.ResultsThe results showed that men and women are significantly different from each other in terms of marital status (p=0.001), education (p=0.001), income (p=0.001), history of injection (p=0.002), imprisonment (p=0.001), and substance use abstention (p=0.023). It was also revealed that methamphetamine dependence (p=0.017) and simultaneous use of multiple substances (p=0.001) in the past 12 months were diagnosed, to a larger extent, in male participants than those in female participants. In addition, the diagnoses of nicotine dependence (p=0.001), cannabis abuse (p=0.001), heroin dependence (p=0.001), and substance abuse and alcohol dependence (p=0.001) during a lifetime were more frequently existing in males than those in females.ConclusionThere are gender differences in substance use patterns and disorders that appear to be caused by the degree of access to substances and the impacts of cultural and social aspects on men and women in Iran.

Background: Due to the expansion of addiction treatment clinics and the costs that these clinics incur on the government and the families of addicts, monitoring the performance of these clinics and the need to pay attention to the principles of management, efficiency, and effectiveness is essential. Objectives: The present study was conducted to identify the factors affecting the management of addiction treatment clinics. Methods: The present study is a descriptive-applied and cross-sectional study conducted in 2019. Experts and academic experts have been considered as the research community, and 18 people were selected as the research sample by the purposeful snowball method. Data collection tools were the review of relevant national and international documents as well as semi-structured exploratory interviews. Finally, after collecting information from the interview sections and reviewing the sources, the data foundation and coding methods (open, axial, and selective) were used to classify the data. Results: The findings of the study showed that the effective factors in the management of addiction treatment clinics are dimensions such as organization, planning, control, guidance as well as leadership and treatment management. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the effective factors in the management of addiction treatment clinics can be a good basis to evaluate managers so that the policies and programs of the organization can be upgraded, modified, and reviewed.

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