6533b874fe1ef96bd12d618a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Patient perspectives on methadone maintenance treatment in the Valencia Region: dose adjustment, participation in dosage regulation, and satisfaction with treatment.

subject

description

Desired adjustment of methadone dose, perceived participation in dosage regulation, and satisfaction with methadone treatment centres were assessed in a sample of opioid-dependent patients from the Valencia Region (eastern Spain). An independent interviewer asked 278 consecutively arriving patients to answer the survey, and 165 (59.4%) completed it. Adjustment of methadone dose was assessed with a -10 to +10 visual analogue scale (VAS-MD); participation in methadone dose regulation, with specific questions; and patient satisfaction, with the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale for methadone treatment (VSSS-MT). The methadone dose (mg/d) prescribed by physicians was (mean+/-S.D.) 68.0+/-30.4. Participants scored -1.0+/-4.7 on the VAS-MD, indicating a significant downward desired adjustment of methadone dose (95% CI of -1.73 to -0.30). Of the patients surveyed, approximately one-third were, overall, content with their participation in methadone dose regulation. Overall, participants felt slightly satisfied (VSSS-MT=3.5+/-0.6) with the centres. Patients treated with a methadone dose of < 60 mg/d felt more satisfied than those treated with 60-100 mg/d. Information about dose changes was the only continuous methadone dose variable related with satisfaction that was found in a multiple regression analysis, which accounted for only 2.0% of the variance in VSSS-MT overall scores. In conclusion, patients' opinions on methadone dose and patient satisfaction are only very weakly related when methadone treatment is implemented as in the Valencia Region.