Has the Recent COVID-19 Pandemic Affected the Characteristics of Newly Presenting Opioid Dependent Patients in Lanarkshire, Scotland?
Date
2024-08-04
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Strathclyde University
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global health, particularly mental health and substance misuse. This study investigates the pandemic's effects on opioid-dependent patients in Lanarkshire, Scotland, a region with a high number of substance misusers. Addressing the lack of data on how COVID-19 stressors influenced this vulnerable population in Lanarkshire, this research compares the charactristics of newly presenting opioid-dependent patients during the pandemic (2020-2021) to those from the pre-pandemic period (2018-2019). Data from questionnaires completed by patients at Addiction Recovery Teams (ART) and Community Addiction Recovery Services (CARS) in Lanarkshire were analyzed using SPSS. Key findings include a decrease in the number of participants from 252 before the pandemic to 156 during the pandemic. Male participation dropped from 70% to 63.5%, while female participation increased from 30% to 36.5%. The average age of participants rose from 36.45 to 37.52 years. An increase in patients previously receiving opioid substitution treatment (OST) was observed, with methadone use decreasing and buprenorphine use rising during the pandemic. Heroin misuse during the pandemic in Lanarkshire increased from 77% to 82%, with a shift towards smoking rather than injection and a higher reliance on drug dealers. Misuse of codeine and tramadol decreased, while cocaine misuse significantly rose to 25%. The proportion of individuals who never experienced a heroin overdose increased from 79% to 84%. Healthcare access was notably disrupted, with participants reporting no visits to healthcare professionals rising from 34% to 71%. Additionally, those unable to be prescribed opioids for pain management increased from 42% to 70%. These findings underscore the need for improved access to treatment and prevention measures for vulnerable populations during global health crises. The limitations of this analysis include disparities in sample sizes and response rates, and the cross-sectional design's inability to establish causality. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies on larger samples to establish causality and develop targeted interventions to support opioid-dependent patients in Lanarkshire, which could be applied across Scotland.
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Keywords
COVID-19 opioid dependence, substance misuse, opioid substitution treatment, Lanarkshire.