A recent study suggested that the involvement of social workers in treating opioid addiction increased the general health of patients. Areas including social, professional, and psychological performance in patients had improved, while skills related to environmental and interpersonal work also strengthened, according to the study by the Department of Social Work at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences in Tehran, Iran.
Social workers treated the patients with an emphasis on biological, social and environmental aspects of addiction recovery. The study recruited 60 drug-dependent men who underwent treatment through drug addiction centers in Iran from December 2013 to June 2014.
The men were evenly assigned to either a control or a case study group and were then given a questionnaire based on somatics, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. Based on patients’ answers, the involvement of social workers had positively influenced somatics, social dysfunction and depression in patients.
Drug abuse is regarded as a form of self-treatment for mental health issues like depression, the study stated; therefore, the addition of social work in a treatment plan can help reduce the rates of relapse.
The findings were consistent with previous studies which showed that social structures and class, social satisfaction, discrimination and life successes can contribute to relapse rates, social functioning and the general health of those suffering from opioid addiction.
Patients that received a higher level of social support during treatment did not… (continue reading)
