ArticleAddiction science & clinical practice2022
Factors associated with patient-reported experiences and outcomes of substance use disorder treatment in Cape Town, South Africa.
Article in Addiction science & clinical practice, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The impact of organisational factors on treatment outcomes for those seeking alcohol or other drug treatment: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol review · 2023Pooled it
- "Cigarettes led me back to smoking tik": lived experience perspectives on tobacco use during substance use treatment and recovery in South Africa.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Service user and healthcare-worker perspectives on Substance Use Disorder treatment journeys, relapse, and recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Does a take-home dose program result in better patient adherence to methadone? Evidence from Vietnam.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- A stakeholder-driven approach to designing a peer recovery coach role for implementation in community-oriented primary care teams in South Africa.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Typologies of suicidality and suicide presenting to a prehospital South African Emergency Medical Service: a retrospective cross-sectional analysis.F1000Research · 2025Article
- The Impact of Drugs and Substance Abuse on Viral Pathogenesis-A South African Perspective.Viruses · 2024Review
- A pre-experimental design evaluation of brief harm reduction interventions to improve coping self-efficacy of carers of people with substance use disorder.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Substance use and substance use disorders in Africa: An epidemiological approach to the review of existing literature.World journal of psychiatry · 2022Review
- COVID 19-impact on substance use treatment utilization and provision in South Africa.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInterventions are needed to improve the quality of South Africa's substance use disorder (SUD) treatment system. This study aimed to identify factors associated with patient-reported suboptimal access, quality, and outcomes of SUD treatment to guide the design of targeted quality improvement initiatives.
methodWe analysed clinical record and patient survey data routinely collected by SUD services in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The sample included 1097 treatment episodes, representing 32% of all episodes in 2019. Using multivariate logistic regression, we modelled socio-demographic, substance use and treatment correlates of patient-reported suboptimal access to, quality and outcomes of SUD treatment.
resultsOverall, 37.9% of patients reported substantial difficulties in accessing treatment, 28.8% reported suboptimal quality treatment, and 31.1% reported suboptimal SUD outcomes. The odds of reporting poor access were elevated for patients identifying as Black/African, in residential treatment, with comorbid mental health problems, and longer histories of substance use. Length of substance use, comorbid mental health problems, and prior SUD treatment were associated with greater likelihood of reporting suboptimal quality treatment. Patients with comorbid mental health problems, polysubstance use, who did not complete treatment, and who perceived treatment to be of poor quality were more likely to report suboptimal outcomes.
conclusionThis study is among the first to use patient-reported experiences and outcome measures to identify targets for SUD treatment improvement. Findings suggest substantial room to improve South African SUD treatment services, with targeted efforts needed to reduce disparities in outcomes for patients of Black/African descent, for those with comorbid mental health problems, and for patients who have chronic substance use difficulties. Interventions to enhance the relevance, appropriateness, and acceptability of SUD services for these patient sub-groups are needed to improve system performance.
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