ArticleBulletin of the World Health Organization2021
Mobile methadone dispensing in Delhi, India: implementation research.
Article in Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- "It's so much easier for them to just come to us": a qualitative study examining the implementation of mobile methadone treatment serving a residential SUD treatment program.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Expanding single-venue services to better engage young people who inject drugs: insights from India.Harm reduction journal · 2024Review
- Public transport access to drug treatment before and during COVID-19: Implications for the opioid epidemic.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectiveTo assess the implementation of a mobile dispensing service to improve opioid users' access to methadone maintenance therapy.
methodsIn March 2019, we started mobile methadone dispensing in an urban underprivileged locality in Delhi, India. The doctor was available only at the main community drug treatment clinic for clinical services, while the nurse dispensed methadone from a converted ambulance. We involved patients in identifying community leaders for sensitization and in deciding the location and timings for dispensing. We conducted a retrospective chart review of the programme data collected during delivery of clinical services. We compared the numbers of patients registered for methadone therapy and their retention and adherence to therapy in the 12-month periods before and after implementation of the mobile service.
findingsThe number of patients registered for therapy at the clinic increased from 167 in the year before implementation to 671 in the year after. A significantly higher proportion of patients were retained in therapy at 3, 6 and 9 months after enrolment; 9-month retention rates were 19% (32/167 patients) and 45% (44/97 patients) in the year before and after implementation, respectively. There was no significant difference in patients' adherence to therapy between the two periods. Challenges included providing suitable dispensing hours for patients in employment and concerns of local community near to the dispensing sites.
conclusionIt is feasible to dispense methadone by a mobile team in an urban setting, with better retention rates in therapy compared with dispensing through a stationary clinic.
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