Retention and Relapse in Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Descriptive Analytical Study

BACKGROUND: Despite the considerable efforts made in Iran to treat people with addiction, relapse is still common. This study was designed to determine retention and relapse rates and related factors at Yasin Methadone Maintenance Treatment Center.

PATIENTS & METHODS: In this study, retention rate, relapse rate, and related factors were examined in 74 cases using a descriptive-analytical method. Information about 20 variables were gathered from patient medical records using an information form and a checklist and data was analyzed by the chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and Mann-Whitney tests using SPSS software.

FINDINGS: The retention and relapse rates were 24.3% and 75.7%, respectively. Only three factors showed a significant difference (p<0.50) between the retention and relapse groups: (1) financial status, (2) motivation for treatment, and (3) cooperation during counseling (p=0.04, p=0.001, p=0.026, respectively). No significant differences were observed between groups for the other factors.

CONCLUSION: Because it is clear that financial status, motivation, and counseling can affect retention rate, it is recommended to study the effect of these factors on retention using methods such as a randomized clinical trial.