@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2252-0805    The Horizon of Medical Sciences 2018;24(3):246-252

Background
Dependence to substance abuse is one of the most important problems of the present age, which has spread to the world, and the number of victims of drug use is increasing each day [1]. … [2-5]. So far, numerous therapeutic and psychological treatments have been developed for addiction. Methadone is a highly effective therapeutic treatment. Methadone is an artificial opioid and an agonist that, after consumption, causes euphoria, analgesia, and other effects of opioid-like substances. This treatment was introduced in 1965 by Niswender and Dole [6].
Previous Studies
… [7]. During the last 3 decades, attention to quality of life has grown as an important factor in evaluating the therapeutic outcomes and the effectiveness of treatment in physical and psychological disorders [8]. … [9-14]. So far, much research has been conducted on the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapies and schema therapy [15-17] on increasing the effectiveness of methadone-therapy and reducing relapse. Additionally, acceptance and commitment therapy has been used to reduce depression, anxiety and to increase happiness in various diseases [18-24] and quality of life [25, 26]. But, the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy has been less used for methadone-treated patients and no research was found regarding their quality of life.
Aim(s)
The aim of this study was to evaluate acceptance and commitment therapy on quality of life of methadone-treated patients.
Research type
This research is a semi-experimental study with control group.
Research society, place and time
The statistical population included all users of methadone in the spring of 2017 in Isfahan.
Sampling method and number
An addiction treatment center was selected, using randomized cluster sampling, and among the visitors of the center, 24 methadone users were selected by randomized sampling method and assigned to the experimental (acceptance and commitment therapy) and control groups. Inclusion and exclusion criteria included at least 1 year of methadone consumption, age range of 20-50 years, being male, minimum diploma literacy, and lack of psychiatric disorders (using clinical interviews).
Used devices&materials
The research instrument was a quality of life questionnaire. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire is a 26-item questionnaire that measures the overall and general quality of life of individuals. This test was developed in 1996 by a panel of experts from the World Health Organization and with options of 100-question form. This questionnaire has 4 subscales and a general score. These subscales are physical health, mental health, social health, environmental health, and a general score. At first, a raw score is obtained for each subscale, which must be converted to a standard score between 0 and 100 through a formula. A higher score indicates a higher quality of life. Nejat et al. [27] reported the reliability of the questionnaire as 0.81. 8 training sessions were held for the experimental group. It should be noted that during this period, the control group received only methadone-therapy and received common advice from the counseling center. After the training sessions, a post-test was performed for both groups. The number of sessions consisted of 8 sessions (each took 2 hours) held once a week. A summary of the training sessions is shown in Table 1. Data analysis with SPSS 23 software was performed, using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to verify the normalization of data, Loon test for the uniformity of variances in the research variable, homogeneity analysis of regression slope to examine the assumption of homogeneity of regression slope, and One-Way ANCOVA.
Findings by Text
Descriptive findings showed that the mean age of the participants was 40 years in the acceptance and commitment therapy group and 37 years in the control group. The highest frequency of education was diploma in both groups. 62% of the experimental group and 70% of the control group were employed. The mean of abuse year was 2 years and 5 months in the acceptance and commitment group and 2 years and 8 months in the control group. The mean and standard deviation of quality of life in the two groups, by pre-test and post-test, were shown in Table 2. The results of Table 3 showed that the mean scores of quality of life in the experimental group in the post-test stage were significantly different from that of the control group. The results of Table 3 showed that there was a significant difference in quality of life scores between the groups with pre-test control (p<0.05). This result means that acceptance and commitment therapy led to an increase in quality of life of people under methadone-therapy.
Main comparison to the similar studies
Momeni et al. [8], Peterson and Efreth [25], Peterson and Efreth [26], Narimani et al. [28], and Mohabatbahar et al. [29] have shown that acceptance and commitment therapy affected quality of life, which was consistent with the findings of this study. However, the results of a study conducted by Tweeng [13] showed that Act was less effective than CBT, which was inconsistent with the results of this study. Also, the results of studies carried out by Gonzales et al. [10], Kianipour [30], Hayes et al. [31], and Stat et al. [32] showed the significant impact of emotional and cognitive processes on drug use and the potential effectiveness of Act interventions for problems related to drug use. The study of Gonzales et al. [10] showed that ACT treatment was better than CBT in the lon-term. ... [33-35].
Suggestions
It is suggested that more research should be conducted with a larger sample size, so that measuring the quality of life subscales is applicable.
Limitations
This research was conducted on methadone-treated men in Isfahan and the results should be generalized to the group of women and other cities of the country with cautious.
Conclusions
Acceptance and commitment therapy is effective on the quality of life of methadone-treated patients, and this treatment can be used in addiction treatment clinics.
Acknowledgments
Here, I would like to thank all the participants in the research and staff of the Armin Kamal addiction center.
Conflict of interest
In the present study, there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Permissions
The ethical code of the research is IR.IAU.NAJAFABAD.REC.1396.45.
Funding Sources
This research was funded by the authors.

TABLES and CHARTS

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