The treatment views and recommendations of substance abusing women: A meta-synthesis

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to synthesize qualitative data describing the substance abuse treatment views and recommendations of addicted mothers. The meta-synthesis approach is a systematic comparison of qualitative studies all asking the same or similar questions and seeks to result in a theory that cuts across all of the studies. Keyword searches of online databases Academic Search Premiere, PubMed, and Google Scholar were conducted using the keywords: perinatal substance abuse, women and substance abuse, parenting and substance abuse to locate qualitative studies. The author also searched references of qualitative studies to access additional articles. Studies were included if they were qualitative, included excerpts from participants who discussed issues about perinatal substance abuse treatment views and recommendations and were published between 1992 and 2010. There were 30 studies reviewed. Evidence suggests that social marketing of substance abuse services that emphasize comprehensive services provided by caring non-judgmental staff is central to motivating women to enter treatment. Positive client and staff interactions are significant to retaining women in treatment. Culturally competent staff can motivate women who are considering treatment. Gender specific substance abuse services are recommended.

What constitutes effective problematic substance use treatment from the perspective of people who are homeless? A systematic review and meta-ethnography

“…Synthesising qualitative studies can strengthen the weight of such evidence by bringing together single studies, and there has been recent recognition of the value of such work [50]. Previous qualitative syntheses in the fields of homelessness and problematic substance use have examined the perspectives of mothers in caring for children in shelters [51], their views on treatment services [52,53] and natural recovery from alcohol and drug problems [54], views of mothers on and safer environments for injecting drug users [55]. This is the first published qualitative synthesis to examine what constitutes effective treatment for problematic substance use from the perspective of people who are homeless.…”

Mothers in Substance Abuse Recovery: Perspectives on Motivators, Challenges and Family Involvement

“…Among women, personal characteristics such as desire for work and educational training, desire for stable relationships as they develop, prior successful experiences in other life areas, and confidence in the treatment process and outcome can motivate treatment retention. In addition, other factors related with the treatment characteristics can motivate women to remain in treatment: supportive therapy, a collaborative therapeutic alliance, and onsite child care and children’s services (6,11).…”

“…For mothers, the concern for the well-being of the fetus/child and the desire to provide care for the children and maintain or recover child custody serves as a major motivation to seek treatment and maintain abstinence from substances (11–14). Moreover, raising children has been associated with improved engagement in drug abuse-related interventions (3,8,15).…”

Formal and Informal Help‐Seeking by Australian Parents who Misuse Alcohol

“…One possible explanation for substance‐misusing parents being more likely to draw on their social support networks than formal services could be the degree of trust that services will non‐judgementally support and meet their needs. Indeed, lack of trust is often cited as a barrier to help‐seeking (Hines, ). Critically, trust in organisational entities is vital for cultivating willing compliance, engagement and cooperation with practitioners within organisations (Braithwaite and Levi, ).…”