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Study of Methadone Terminations
Author(s) -
Brown Edward M.,
Benante Joseph,
Greenberg Myron,
MacArthur Mary
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
british journal of addiction to alcohol and other drugs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0007-0890
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1975.tb00011.x
Subject(s) - methadone , ethnic group , medicine , ethnic composition , demography , population , substance abuse , psychiatry , environmental health , sociology , anthropology
Summary Three methadone units at the Lower Eastside Service Center terminated 110 patients over a 16‐month period. Nine were transferred, therefore 85 males and 16 females constituted the methadone terminations; a total of 101, or 18 per cent of the methadone admissions. Ten per cent of the terminations voluntarily detoxified under planned medical care of which half appeared to be making successful sound adjustments. Thirty‐nine unilaterally discontinued attending and disappeared from clinic contact which represented the largest single disposition. Fifty‐two per cent involuntarily detoxified due to adjustment problems. Twenty‐one per cent had been imprisoned and 14 per cent were terminated by the clinic for abusive behavior. There was one readmission. The terminations generally reflected the ethnic composition of the clinics with Puerto Ricans representing about half the population. There was an absence of black patients terminated for abusive behavior. Drug abuse as a cause of termination was higher among whites as compared to other ethnic groups. The data indicates need for research follow‐up with unilateral terminations to study the results of their disappearance and for clinical support with the planned detoxifications to assist in their adjustment.