(Download) "Characteristics and Response to Treatment Among Aboriginal People Receiving Heroin-Assisted Treatment (Quantitative Research) (Report)" by Canadian Journal of Public Health # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Characteristics and Response to Treatment Among Aboriginal People Receiving Heroin-Assisted Treatment (Quantitative Research) (Report)
- Author : Canadian Journal of Public Health
- Release Date : January 01, 2010
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 282 KB
Description
Opioid dependence, particularly with regard to heroin, is a chronic relapsing disease associated with elevated risks of morbidity and mortality when untreated. (1-3) Based on the current evidence, substitution treatment with opioid agonists mainly methadone--is the most effective approach for attracting and retaining patients in treatment, but a subset of patients do not benefit. In Europe (4-7) and Canada, (8) medically prescribed diacetylmorphine, the active ingredient of heroin, has been shown to be an effective alternative for this subgroup of the most severely affected long-term opioid users. There is a paucity of evidence in Canada examining the effectiveness of substitution treatment for Aboriginal people who are opioid-dependent. This is particularly concerning because of the extent to which Aboriginal people are over-represented among injection drug using populations (9) as well as their reported lower access to substitution treatment compared to non-Aboriginal people. (10) For example in Vancouver, 26.6% of the people attending the supervised injection facility self-identify as being an Aboriginal person (Metis, First Nations, Inuit, Status or non-Status Indian).10 In the same cohort, 4.7% of Aboriginal participants reported the use of methadone compared to 12.9% of non-Aboriginal (the difference was statistically significant).