The Oldest Addiction Treatment Institution on the Historical Territory of Slovakia: The Istebné nad Oravou Treatment Facility (1937–1949)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is a continuous tradition of institutional impatient addiction treatment in what is now the Czech Republic which dates back to 1948, when the “Apolinar Model” began to be developed by Jaroslav Skála and his colleagues. Before the advent of this treatment approach, there was only one inpatient facility providing addiction treatment on the historical territory of Slovakia, the institution in Istebné nad Oravou (1937–1949). AIMS: To explore the modern history of anti-alcohol activities developed in the first half of the 20th century in Slovakia and the origin, operation, and dissolution of the first specialised inpatient addiction treatment facility. METHODS: Qualitative content analysis of available historical documents was used to collect the data. The documents were categorised according to their relevance to the focus of the research, taking into account the site under consideration, the time and place of its establishment, and the roles of the people involved. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The establishment of the first institutional treatment facility on the historic territory of Slovakia was marked by some specific features ensuing from the relative lack of interest in dealing with addictionrelated issues on the part of society. This was reflected in the circumstances of its origin, funding, and occupancy, in operational reductions following the proclamation of the independent Slovak State (1939), and in the gradual dissolution of the facility in 1949. In spite of all this, the Istebné nad Oravou facility was a significant milestone in institutional addiction treatment in Slovakia.