CHALLENGES FACED BY THE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN THE TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS: A PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

As per the 2013 UNODC report, more than 6 million Pakistani populations is suffering from Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), and this number is likely to increase by many folds in the currently launched survey. Therefore, there is a dire need to highlight the issues related to Substance Use Disorders and challenges being faced in the treatment. As the number is rising, the healthcare burden of the problem is also increasing dramatically. The current study focuses on the challenges faced by healthcare professionals in treatment of individuals with Substance Use Disorders. The sample consisted of 9 Healthcare professionals working in the field of SUDs for more than 10 years. A qualitative research design was used, and the data was collected using Focus Group Discussion. The results of the study identified the four major themes in which the challenges in the treatment of the substance use disorders fall. The four themes are individual challenges, social challenges, economic challenges, and system level challenges. The subthemes were also obtained for each major theme. Subthemes for the individual challenges included psychological and personality factors. The subthemes for the social challenges were family related factors and healthcare related factors. The third theme was economic factors, and the subthemes under this theme were financial factors and healthcare cost related factors. The last theme was the system level challenges and it comprised of legal factors and policy related factors. The findings of this study highlight the vital need of developing and implementing culturally appropriate treatment protocols and procedures for addressing substance use disorders (SUDs) in the Pakistani setting.