Programa de mantenimiento con metadona (PMM) en prisión: Cambios sociales y sanitarios

Abstract

Maintenance methadone programs help addicts who have previously failed in free- drugs programs to have better social behaviour, decreased criminality and legal problems and improved health. Aims: To assess the benefits of methadone treatment in opiate addicts individuals, before and after being included in the program. To assess the effects of the simultaneous consumption of other drugs and illegal methadone. Patients and Methods: A pre-experimental study was designed with a pre-post intervention group. A single interview was performed and information about the situation of patients before and after the methadone treatment was obtained. The patients were a group of 62 prisoners from the Brians Penitentiary Center (Barcelona). Variables to be considered include: labour activity, social and economic level, self control and self esteem, legal problems, psychiatric treatment, suicide attempts, sharing of injecting equipment, prostitution, irritability and drug addiction background. The statistics methods applied were non-parametric tests, comparason of proportions for categorical variables, Mc Nemar and Friedman tests for ordinal variables. Results: social and self esteem improved during inclusion of addicts in the treatment program. Cocaine and cannabis consumption diminished significantly, however Alcohol, nicotine, benzodiazepines and designer drug consumption increased during the length of the program. Discussion: Results are compared with those stablished by other authors and published.. The conclusion is that methadone maintenance programs are a valid strategy in and out of penitentiary centers, diminish risk behaviour for HIV, hepatitis and other derived pathologies and modify social and legal aspects.