Relapse Rate Following Institutionalized Rehabilitation of Male Heroin Addicts: a Sri Lankan experience

Abstract

Introduction and Objective: Relapses following rehabilitation is identified as a major draw back in rehabilitation process of drug addicts in many countries including Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to assess the relapse rate following institutionalized rehabilitation programs among male drug addicts in selected rehabilitation institutions in Sri Lanka. Methods: A longitudinal follow up study was conducted among a randomly selected sample of 189 male drug addicts in five selected rehabilitation centers in Sri Lanka. Study subjects were followed up for six months with two follow up interviews at 3 months and 6 months after discharge from rehabilitation center. A ‘relapse’ was defined as a return to drug use after a period of abstinence often accompanied by reinstatement of dependence symptoms. Results: Majority of drug addicts were above 25 years of age (n=133, 70.4%) and resident from Western province (n=126,66.7%) with mean age(±SD) of 29.7(±7.8) years. At the end of three months, relapse rate was 48. 7% (n=92) while at the six month it was 59.6%(n=109) excluding lost to follow-ups(n=6, 3.17%). Easy availability and accessibility for drugs within living community was identified as the main reason for relapse among 82.6% (n=90) of drug users who were relapsed. The majority (66.1%, n=72) who relapsed did so within first six weeks(mean(SD)5.7 weeks(5.3)) after discharge. Conclusion: Relapse was identified as a common problem in the drug rehabilitation process in Sri Lanka. This needs the attention of policymakers for planning and implementing of follow up programs for drug addicts especially during the initial period after discharge from rehabilitation centers to minimize number of relapses.