The medical model of rehabilitation treatment of drug addicts with psychiatric comorbidity: Efficacy evaluation

Abstract

Introduction

The medical model assumes the professional psychotherapeutic assistance at all stages of the rehabilitation process and pharmacological treatment of comorbid mental disorders.

Aim

Evaluation of the efficacy of the medical model rehabilitation based on the clinical, psychological, and social characteristics of patients at the all stages of the treatment.

Subjects

Eighty-five drug-addicted patients with psychiatric comorbidity. The inclusion criteria were: age above 18 years, withdrawal status. The patients were examined four times:

– 1 – during the first weeks of treatment;

– 2 – after 45 days;

– 3 – after 6 months;

– 4 – after 12 months.

Results and conclusions

The primary evaluation the highest scores noted in the sections: “family and social connections”, “health status”, “psychiatric status” and “legal aspects” received lower scores. In the second measurement, the results established a significant improvement on the scale of “health status”, “mental status”, “alcohol”, “drug use” compared with original values. Early retired patients the most high-end performance observed on the scale of “drug alcohol using”, “job/livelihood”, “health status”, “legal aspects”, the “psychiatric status”, “family and social connections” recorded lower scores. Indicators on the scale of “drug use”, “alcohol” in this group of patients was significantly higher than patients who remain on treatment, which may indicate a possible updating of the attraction to the drugs. The third measurement showed a significant improvement ASI according to the all scales as compared to the previous ones. In the course of the rehabilitation process revealed positive changes in clinical, psychological and social characteristics of patients.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.