美沙冬替代减害疗法之社会心理与医疗经济成本相关研究.PDFVIP

2011Apr21 美沙冬替代減害療法之社會心理與醫療經濟成本相關研究 精神學科 陳高欽 1. Introduction 1.1 The importance of treatment for heroin dependency The opioid dependence has been a serious problem all over the world. Among the opioid abuse behaviors, intravenous drug users (IDU) have especially created another severe public health issue such as transmitted diseases’ spread. Recently in Taiwan the government estimated the population of HIV sero-positive has increased tremendously during the past years. Since 2005, the population of heroin dependence IDU with HIV sero-positive has increased up to 2461, occupied 72% of the total HIV sero-positive population within the year. For a long time, sexual behavior was the main infection route for HIV in Taiwan, since 2003 the rapid increase the number of IDU has also simultaneously increased the number of HIV sero-positive (2007 annual report of centers for disease control, Taiwan). We have faced a rapid growth of the number of HIV/AIDS among IDUs in recent years, primarily because of sharing the needles and heroin diluents. Under such a situation, Taiwan conducted harm reduction strategies proposed by UNAIDS, WHO, and other developed countries in order to curb the epidemic among IDUs. Two years after our methadone maintenance therapy 1 (MMT) starting in February of 2006, the number of HIV sero-positive in Taiwan has been decreased, especially on the proportion of IDU in HIV sero-positive population. Patients benefit substantially from MMT with improvements in physical and psychological health, MMT is seen as a vital factor in the process of social re-integration and it contributes to the reduction of drug related harms such as mortality and morbidity and to the prevention of infectious diseases [1, 2]. Among opioid-addicted individuals, participants received