“Tougher than ever”: an exploration of relapse prevention strategies among patients recovering from poly-substance use disorders in Ghana
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Date
2018Author
Appiah, Richard
Boakye, Kofi E.
Ndaa, Peter
Aziato, Lydia
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Objective: Drug dependency has been typified as a persistent relapsing disorder. Overall, 65% of
people with substance use disorders relapse within one year after treatment. Recent
interventions have focussed on contextually relevant relapse prevention strategies. This
study explored relapse prevention strategies utilised by patients recovering from polysubstance use disorders one year after treatment at a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Unit in Ghana.
Methods: The study adopted a descriptive phenomenology design and was conducted at the
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Unit of the Regional Hospital, Sunyani, Ghana. A purposive sample of
15 patients recovering from poly-substance use disorders were recruited. Data were collected
through in-depth interviews with a semistructured guide and analysed using the content
analysis procedures. Results: Five key themes emerged from the analysis of the data that
described participants’ relapse prevention strategies. These include clinical strategies, selfinitiated tactics, spirituality and religious engagements, communalism and social support
network. Conclusions: The evidence from this study supports a multilevel treatment strategy for
patients with poly-substance disorders. We found that a combination of clinical, individual and
contextual factors significantly contribute to relapse prevention efforts in the Ghanaian context.
Clinicians and treatment services should explore, evaluate, strengthen and incorporate these
emerging themes into their relapse prevention interventions protocols
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/32050https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687637.2017.1337080
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2017.1337080
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- Faculty of Health Sciences [2386]