Abstract
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 (an acute respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus) has had harmful effects on people in need of special support. People with problematic substance use are recognized as such a group. The pandemic has raised the need for sufficient treatment and services during these unpredictable conditions. At the same time, it poses severe challenges to their production and provision. The purpose of the study was to use content analysis to qualitatively examine Finnish professionals’ (N = 22) views on (1) the challenges posed by COVID-19 in working in inpatient substance abuse treatment, (2) how these challenges have been addressed, and (3) what the consequences of the challenges and the solutions to them are. The findings confirmed that COVID-19 has caused drastic changes in the organization of treatment and daily practices. Professionals experience challenges in preventing infection from spreading into and within treatment units. They also describe difficulties in applying social distancing in treatment that is based on therapeutic communities. The pandemic has also challenged communication and co-worker support among professionals. These challenges have led to practical solutions that, in turn, have their own consequences for treatment practices. We conclude that the quality of treatment has to some extent been impaired because of the pandemic.
Highlights
IntroductionPeople referred to inpatient substance abuse treatment ( known as residential treatment) often experience severe social, psychological, and physical consequences of their alcohol, drug, or prescription drug dependencies
People referred to inpatient substance abuse treatment often experience severe social, psychological, and physical consequences of their alcohol, drug, or prescription drug dependencies
We examine professionals’ views on (1) the challenges caused by COVID-19 in working in inpatient substance abuse treatment, (2) how these challenges have been addressed, and (3) what the consequences of the challenges and the solutions to them are
Summary
People referred to inpatient substance abuse treatment ( known as residential treatment) often experience severe social, psychological, and physical consequences of their alcohol, drug, or prescription drug dependencies. In such cases, outpatient treatment has been considered insufficient, and more intensive support is needed to help patients in their complex life situations. Professionals seek to help patients to achieve improvement in various life domains, such as intrapersonal well-being, social relationships, and life functioning [1,2,3]. Professionals have highlighted the severity of the harmful effects of the pandemic on people with problematic substance use. According to Marsden et al [8], the pandemic may have exacerbated addictive behavior, relapses, loneliness, depression, and even suicidality, which raises the need for sufficient treatment and services during these unpredictable conditions
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