Building abstinent networks is an important resource in improving quality of life

Muller, Ashley Elizabeth; Clausen, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.09.006

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Other studies have detected effects of domain-specific QOL indicators such as social QOL 66,67 and environmental QOL, [67][68][69] while our study did not find such relationships. Several methodological factors might have contributed to our study not detecting any domain-specific associations: the sample size was not big enough to detect any impact, other domains besides those we examined may have affected the overall QOL, or the QOL-questions in KVARUS were to general and did not make explicit casual relations among issues and substance use.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationscontrasting

confidence: 98%

“…Several methodological factors might have contributed to our study not detecting any domain-specific associations: the sample size was not big enough to detect any impact, other domains besides those we examined may have affected the overall QOL, or the QOL-questions in KVARUS were to general and did not make explicit casual relations among issues and substance use. 42 OMT participants' natural treatment progression is rarely examined, 66 but the current study examines participants' adverse experiences, resources, polydrug use, and their potential change in treatment progression. This is one of the uniqueness of this study.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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<p>Opioid and Polydrug Use Among Patients in Opioid Maintenance Treatment</p>

Carlsen

Lunde

Torsheim

2020

SAR

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Purpose: Opioid maintenance treatment reduces a person's use of heroin. However, frequent substance use in treatment is a problem. Aim: To examine the association between opioid maintenance treatment and opioid/polydrug use, and whether social factors, adverse experiences, social resources, and quality of life are associated with opioid/polydrug use during the first 12 months in treatment. Patients and Methods: Forty-seven participants from treatment units in Bergen, Norway participated in five waves of data collection. Every third month, a structured face-to-face interview collected self-reported data on sociodemographic characteristics, opioid/polydrug use, participants' social resources or adverse experiences, and quality of life. Data were collected as part of KVARUS, the National Quality Register for Substance Abuse Treatment. A multilevel binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of opioid/polydrug use and time in current treatment. The analysis included regressions of opioid/polydrug use on time-invariant baseline adverse experiences and social resources, and time-varying reports of quality of life. Results: There was a significant negative association between time in treatment and use of opioids, b =−0.89, SE = 0.19, p = <0.01. Furthermore, a negative association of age at substance use on polydrug use was found, b =−0.40, SE =0.19, p = 0.03. A higher overall quality of life was significantly associated with lower odds of opioid use during opioid maintenance treatment, b = −0.62, SE = 0.23, p = < 0.01. Social dimensions, participants' adverse experiences, and social resources were not associated with polydrug or opioid use. Conclusion: Opioid maintenance treatment is associated with lowered opioid use, but to a lesser degree with polydrug use. Our findings add quality of life as an important factor that should be given particular attention because it can offer insight to aspects that can affect the patients' opioid use.

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Section: Strengths and Limitationscontrasting

confidence: 98%

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Opioid and Polydrug Use Among Patients in Opioid Maintenance Treatment</p>

Carlsen

Lunde

Torsheim

2020

SAR

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“…Nevertheless, this sample was relatively small, prohibiting stratified analyses such as by gender. No gender differences in QoL were found in previous analyses from the larger study from which this sample was drawn [42, 66], but there may be a gender aspect to social networks and contact, and it is worth exploring this further. Another limitation is that the larger study did not utilize a random sampling design, limiting generalizability of the study’s and of this sample’s characteristics to the Norwegian patient population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Another limitation is that the larger study did not utilize a random sampling design, limiting generalizability of the study’s and of this sample’s characteristics to the Norwegian patient population. While this analysis is therefore less capable of providing specific prevalence rates, the correlations found between QoL, exercise, and social contact seem stable, as they were also found in analysis of the larger study at baseline [42] and follow-up [66].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Performance of the WHOQOL-BREF among Norwegian substance use disorder patients

Muller

Clausen

2019

BMC Med Res Methodol

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Background Quality of life (QoL) is an established outcome measure of substance use disorder treatment. The WHOQOL-BREF is the gold standard tool, but its appropriateness for particularly vulnerable patient populations must be further explored. This article examines the scaling qualities of the WHOQOL-BREF in a Norwegian substance use disorder population, and explores relationships with social and health variables. Methods 107 participants in a larger national treatment study provided data during structured interviews. Item responses, responsiveness, and domain scaling qualities are reported. General linear models identified correlates of impaired QoL. Results Three out of four domains exhibited acceptable scaling qualities, while the social relationships domain had low internal validity. 59% of the variance in physical health QoL was explained in our model by the negative main or interaction effects of depression, unemployment, social isolation, smoking, residential treatment, and weight dissatisfaction. 52% of the variance in psychological health QoL was explained by depression and being single. Depression also had significant main effects in social relationships QoL (R 2 = .27) and environment QoL (R 2 = .39), and social isolation and exercise had further interaction effects in environment QoL. Conclusions After one year in treatment, the impact of low social contact in reducing QoL, rather than specific substance use patterns, was striking. The social relationships domain is the shortest in the WHOQOL-BREF, yet social variables were important in other areas of QoL. Social support could benefit from more attention in treatment, as a lack of social support seems to be a strong risk factor for poor QoL in various domains. The WHOQOL-BREF exhibits otherwise satisfactory measurement characteristics and is an appropriate tool among this population.

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“…The consistent correlation between offenders' loneliness and low social support to low QoL contributes to a growing body of evidence of such relationships among other populations (Best et al, 2013;Björkman & Hansson, 2002;Fleury et al, 2013;Hansson & Björkman, 2007;Muller, Skurtveit, & Clausen, 2017;Netuveli, Wiggins, Hildon, Montgomery, & Blane, 2006;Quaresma, Palmeira, Martins, Minderico, & Sardinha, 2014;Rao et al, 2012). Social network interventions aimed at accessing and enhancing social support available to offenders may have the additional and reinforcing benefits of reduced risk behavior and substance use post-release (Litt & Mallon, 2003).…”

Section: Qol Of Offending Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Quality of Life Assessments of Offenders

Muller

2020

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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Strength-based theories of rehabilitation emphasize the importance of opportunities for offenders to achieve “good lives” to not re-offend. The extent to which these groups feel enabled to achieve a good life may be measured through subjective, overall quality of life (QoL). The aim is to systematically review the QoL instruments used among detained offenders and synthesize the factors related to their QoL. A systematic literature review was conducted to retrieve articles that assessed the overall QoL of a sample of detained offenders using a validated instrument. The instruments’ specificity, dimensionality, and respondent and administrator burden were assessed, and factors reported as significantly related to QoL were summarized. In total, 41 articles were included in the review: 20 reported on forensic samples and 20 on prisoners, with one study randomly assigning offenders to either forensic treatment or prison. Among the included articles, 12 validated instruments were utilized. Only one instrument, the Forensic Inpatient Quality of Life Questionnaire, was specifically developed for and validated in forensic patients. Detained offending populations reported lower QoL than the general population, and those with untreated mental illness reported the lowest. The most consistent predictors of QoL longitudinally were social factors, while substance use and detention-specific variables were not consistently related. In general, the relationships between poor mental health, loneliness, and poor QoL seen in offenders are also seen among other marginalized populations. To improve the evidence base for QoL assessment in this vulnerable group, current gold standard QoL instruments should be validated in detained populations.

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Building abstinent networks is an important resource in improving quality of life

Abstract: Developing an abstinent network is particularly important to improve the quality of life of those in substance use disorder treatment. Social isolation is a risk factor for impaired quality of life throughout the treatment course.

Cited by 25 publications

References 57 publications

<p>Opioid and Polydrug Use Among Patients in Opioid Maintenance Treatment</p>

<p>Opioid and Polydrug Use Among Patients in Opioid Maintenance Treatment</p>

Performance of the WHOQOL-BREF among Norwegian substance use disorder patients

A Systematic Review of Quality of Life Assessments of Offenders

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