Oladapo Babatola
Oladapo Babatola received his Bachelor degree in Medicine (M.B;B.S) from University of Ilorin Medical School in 1988 and shortly after commenced his postgraduate in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. He rose up to be an Associate Consultant before moving to the United Kingdom where he then switched to psychiatry based on his initial interest in the field. He has worked in a number of Mental Health Trusts all over the UK and was working with West Kent Drug, Alcohol and Recovery Service (CGL) as an Associate Specialist when this study was completed. He holds a Masters in Psychiatry from the Cardiff University and his current research interest is in Old Age and Addictions in the areas of Substance abuse in youth/teens, older adults and other demographic groups such as health care or legal professionals as well as evidenced-based treatment practices. He is currently working with Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.
Predictors of relapse among clients undergoing Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) in the United Kingdom
Aim: This study investigated which of these factors significantly contributed to relapse in these clients when compared to other factors.
Design & Setting: A retrospective study sourcing data from the electronic data system of CGL across three sites in West Kent – Maidstone, Tonbridge and Gravesend. A total of 1464 clients were recruited into the study from the ages between 18-65 years. A logistic regression model was employed to determine the predictors of relapse as well as univirate and bivariate analysisResults: The descriptive statistics showed that our sample consists of relatively young individual people, with a mean age for both sexes of 40.81 (SD, 10.738, OR- 0.963, S.E- 0.005) years (ranges 18 to 65 years). Factors influencing relapse are age at presentation, marital status, mental health issues, employment and age at first injecting/age at first opiate use. Moreover, the probability of relapse increases by 3.7% for each additional year of age. Those formerly in a same-sex civil partnership now legally dissolved, or who are single are 57.7% more likely to relapse compared to those with other marriage statuses. Disability and gender do not have any predictability power for relapse in this study.
Findings and Conclusion: Continuing education of clinicians beyond their initial training, the need for clinicians to assess and address comorbid conditions, such as mood disorders and other substance use and the need to carefully put in place care and recovery management plans that will go a long way in reducing relapse in both outpatient and inpatient clinical settings. There is need for a prospective study which will take into consideration more factors and associations to reduce bias and errors.
Keywords: OST (Opioid substitution therapy)
Poster link: Predictors of relapse among clients undergoing Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) in the United Kingdom