13th December 2005

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A major University of Ulster research project calls for more resources to ensure effective targeted treatment for drug abusers in the Republic.
 
It urges an evaluation of current care options, suggesting that they often fail to match the needs of the patient.
 
Researchers at the School of Psychology at the Magee campus in Derry propose the introduction of drug-misuser profiles, which they have identified, in deciding which intervention programme best suits a patient’s behaviour and circumstances.
 
The study, in cooperation with the Health Research Board, Dublin, profiled treated drug misuse in the Republic for the first time.  
 
It uncovered six distinct profiles of drug consumption patterns among 6,994 individuals who received treatment for drug misuse during 2000.  
 
The researchers identified them as Recreational, Experimental, Multi-combination use, Methadone, Benzodiazepine and Heroin Misuse.
 
 “Drug treatment services need to be tailored to match the needs and profile of the individual,” said Paul Cahill, who was awarded a Health Services Board research fellowship to conduct the study.

“Resources in the 1980/90s were primarily aimed at dealing with the heroin problem, a high-profile issue which was and still is a major issue. However, by doing that, services may not have been tailored to the specific needs of other groups looking for treatment for their drug problems.”

“We need to ensure that resources are channelled in a way that is not at the expense of any one category of drug users,” Cahill said.
 
In their report Paul Cahill and Professor Brendan Bunting said that modern psychological profiling could help provide a greater understanding of drug misuse.
 
The research highlighted a “lack of consistency” in matching patients to programmes. Most were put on common treatments widely deemed suitable for their category, but many were not.  This meant that individuals with similar drug problems were given different forms of treatment. Hence, drug misusers with similar drug taking profiles were often placed within different treatment programmes, depending on where they lived.
 
“Each of the drug profile categories which our research uncovered has its own unique characteristics. We find that people have been channelled into treatment services which may not have reflected the diversity of behavioural aspects which they exhibited.  Simply put, one size doesn’t fit all,” Cahill said.

The research listed the programmes that were applied to each treated drug misuse profile. Counselling and non-medical treatments were the intervention of choice for the Recreational (913 people) and Experimental profiles (563 people). Yet, people in this category were more likely to be placed on either methadone maintenance or detoxification programmes if they lived in the Dublin region.
 
Those in the Multi-combination misuse (1018 people) or the Methadone misuse classes (977 people) were primarily allocated to substitution treatment programmes. However, 627 of these individuals were placed within counselling, non-medical or detoxification treatment regimens. 

Of the 231 people displaying Benzodiazepine misuse behaviours, 108 were placed within counselling programmes, while 123 were treated within other forms of programmes.
 
There were 2,181 Heroin misusers receiving substitution drug treatment, while 541 received detoxification, 310 were given counselling and 260 were placed within other forms of treatment.
 
“Heroin dependence dominates the drug treatment landscape in Ireland, particularly within the Dublin region, and the overwhelming focus of Dublin’s drug treatment resources are designed to tackle heroin misuse,” Cahill said. “This may result in Recreational, Experimental and Multi-combination drug users being placed within unsuitable mainstream drug treatment settings and hence they do not benefit from more specifically tailored treatment programs.”
 
“This research has highlighted the need for treatment providers, statutory and voluntary, to be provided with resources to allow for drug treatments to be tailored to reflect the individual’s needs and in relation to the presenting drug treatment profile.  In other words, there is a need to move away from the individual having to fit the treatment regimen, and towards drug treatment programmes matching the client’s needs and drug misuse profile,” Cahill said. 

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young