Association between substance use treatment motivations and retention in treatment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Identifying factors influencing the retention in the treatment of substance users is one of the great issues in the health field. The present study was performed to identify the motivations to start treatment and their relationship with retention in the treatment. Methods and materials This cross-sectional study carried out on 189 people with substance use disorder undergoing treatment in the first month referred to addiction treatment clinics in 2021. Forty clinics were selected using a simple random sampling method. Required information was collected using a demographic and “motivating factors to quit” questionnaire. Data were analyzed using chi-square, Fisher’s exact and Mann – Whitney U tests through SPSS version 24. Results This study showed a significant relationship between the place of residence and occupation of the subjects with all the fields of the “motivating factors to quit” questionnaire (p < 0.05). Only “family” item had a significant relationship with retention in the treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusion Considering the relationship between the family item and retention in the treatment, it seems that informing the patient’s family about the importance of encouraging, supporting and quit plan can be an effective help in increasing retention in the treatment.