The use of drugs predominantly among Iranian men leads to health and social problems. Iran has established methadone maintenance therapy centres but there is limited research exploring the experiences of men who make use of this therapy. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of men on methadone maintenance therapy in Urmia, Iran. Sixteen opioid-dependent males on methadone syrup substitution therapy were interviewed. Transcribed data were subjected to thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from the data: (1) the role of family in drug addiction; (2) the role of environment in drug addiction; and (3) the support needed to overcome drug addiction. While drug rehabilitation programmes in Iran can help the person, their family is seen as the most important support that they need together with sociocultural acceptance to overcome stigmatisation.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	mental health, addiction, substance use
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Health services and systems
Research Field:	Mental health services
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Mental health
UTAS Author:	Cleary, M (Professor Michelle Cleary)
ID Code:	121344
Year Published:	2017
Web of Science® Times Cited:	8
Deposited By:	Health Sciences
Deposited On:	2017-09-26
Last Modified:	2018-09-13
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