Exploratory Study on Drug Users’ Perspectives on Quality of Life: More than Health-Related Quality of Life?

Abstract

In drug treatment outcome literature, a focus on objective and socially desirable indicators of change (e.g. no drug use) has predominated, while outcome indicators that are important for drug users themselves (e.g. quality of life, satisfaction with treatment) have largely been neglected. Nonetheless, Quality of Life (QoL) has become an important concept to evaluate effectiveness of treatment in mental health care research and disability studies. Given the almost exclusive focus on Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in substance abuse research and the neglect of clients' perspectives in this field, we explore in this study the concept of QoL as perceived by drug users. Focus group discussions (n = 9) were organised in various treatment settings and community services for drug users in the region of Ghent, Belgium to identify important dimensions of QoL and their interpretation by drug users. Data were clustered and analysed based on the theoretical framework of Robert Schalock (Quality of life. Volume 1: Conceptualization and measurement, 1996). The domains 'personal relationships', 'social inclusion' and 'self-determination' were discussed most frequently by the participants. They stressed the importance of a supportive social network in particular. It can be concluded that QoL is not primarily associated by drug users with health and it involves much more than the aspects typically represented in measures of HRQOL.

Treatment satisfaction and quality of support in outpatient substitution treatment: opiate users’ experiences and perspectives

“…Until today, most evaluation studies of opiate substitution treatment have focused on objective, socially desirable outcomes such as the reduction of illicit drug use, health risks associated with drug use and criminal behavior, with limited attention for outcomes important to opiate-dependent individuals themselves (Barnett & Hui, 2000;De Maeyer, Vanderplasschen, & Broekaert, 2009;Fischer, Rehm, Kim, & Kirst, 2005;Ruefli & Rogers, 2004). Drug users are seldom seen as important sources of information and their personal perspectives about substance abuse treatment and life in general are not widely reported in the literature (Drumm et al, 2003;Fischer, Rehm, & Kim, 2001;Kolind, 2007;Montagne, 2002), even though such studies may present an alternative perspective on these issues (Brun & Rapp, 2001;Vanderplasschen & De Maeyer, 2007).…”

Civic-Political Development in the Context of Economic Apartheid in Distressed Communities: A Theoretical Model

“…Although much has been explored about quality of life satisfaction, including its relationship to minority status (Martin-Combs & Bayne-Smith, 2000;Kelly, 2013b), substance abusers (De Maeyer, Vanderplasschen, & Brockaert, 2009;Lauder et al, 2006), youth development (Park, 2004;Torney-Purta, Amadeo, & Richardson, 2003), and even college students (Haarju & Bolen, 1998), more investigations are required to better understand the concrete relationships between class status and quality of life satisfaction. This includes the fixed action patterns of social connectedness that enhance this evaluation of one's civic-political self-in-environment (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998;Huebner et al, 2004;Kelly, 2006).…”

Exploratory Study on Domain-Specific Determinants of Opiate-Dependent Individuals’ Quality of Life

“…In view of the potential negative consequences of a drug-using lifestyle on various life domains [6,12] , it is important to measure the QoL of opiate-dependent individuals as a multidimensional concept [13] . Domain-specific assessments of QoL provide concrete information about individuals' experiences with life, based on satisfaction with various life domains (e.g.…”