Factors Associated with Drug Relapse among Patients Treated in a Drug Addiction Clinic
Keywords:
Drug relapse, Stress, Patients with substance use, Drug treatment, Associated factorsAbstract
This correlational analytical study aimed to examine factors associated with relapse among patients who had completed treatment at the Drug Dependence Treatment Clinic, Ban Kruat Hospital, Buriram Province. The sample consisted of 125 patients selected using simple random sampling. Data collection instruments included a demographic questionnaire, a stress assessment, a knowledge test on the harmful effects and consequences of drug use, an attitude toward drug use questionnaire, and relapse data. The reliability coefficients of the instruments were 0.82, 0.79 (KR-20), and 0.88, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression, with the level of statistical significance set at 0.05.
The results showed that 12.8% of the participants relapsed within three months after completing treatment. After controlling for age, stress was significantly associated with relapse. For each one-point increase in the stress score, the odds of relapse increased by 1.33 times (Adjusted OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.13 - 1.56, p = 0.001). In contrast, age was not significantly associated with relapse (Adjusted OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.98 - 1.08, p = 0.247). These findings highlight the importance of stress assessment and management, together with continuous follow-up care after treatment, to monitor and reduce factors associated with relapse.
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