Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The New Zealand government’s health surveys consistently identify that alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction is an issue for New Zealanders. However, there is a lack of qualitative research on the lived experiences of health and social service professionals who have previous or current experience of AOD addiction in Aotearoa New Zealand.METHODS: A constructivist approach was utilised, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and subsequent thematic analysis identified themes highlighting what contributed, and created barriers to, participants’ successful AOD addiction recovery.FINDINGS: Identification of nine themes illustrated that the barriers to AOD addiction recovery in Aotearoa New Zealand experienced by the research participants were systemic and preventable.CONCLUSIONS: The recommendation of this research is that the lived experience of people who have experienced AOD addiction in Aotearoa New Zealand is better utilised in order to mitigate, and enhance, identified barriers, and contributors to, successful AOD addiction recovery.
Highlights
The New Zealand government’s health surveys consistently identify that alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction is an issue for New Zealanders
The recommendation of this research is that the lived experience of people who have experienced AOD addiction in Aotearoa New Zealand is better utilised in order to mitigate, and enhance, identified barriers, and contributors to, successful AOD addiction recovery
This culminated in a new age of AOD addiction epistemology that recognises the varied and complex factors that lead to the development and maintenance of a substance use disorder, requiring diverse holistic treatment responses tailored to each individual in order to meet their unique needs (Patil & Giordano, 2010; Webster & Bosmann-Wātene, 2003)
Summary
The New Zealand government’s health surveys consistently identify that alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction is an issue for New Zealanders. In Aotearoa New Zealand, addiction is largely still a pathologised phenomenon (Csiernik & Rowe, 2003) and classified as a psychological disorder, using similar classification systems that define other mental health disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; World Health Organisation, 2005) Critics of this perspective identify the weaknesses of reducing a complex phenomenon to a discrete set of symptoms with clear diagnosis, without adequate consideration of socio-cultural factors that an individual may be facing (Patil & Giordano, 2010); especially that person’s cultural worldview (Webster & Bosmann-Wātene, 2003). Further integrating sociologically based professions such as social work into the existing system would be an ideal option to achieve this change
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