Effects of a Randomized Comprehensive Psychosocial Intervention Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Theory and Motivational Interviewing Techniques for Community Rehabilitation of Patients With Opioid Use Disorders in Shanghai, China

Abstract

Objectives: China is faced with the challenge of community rehabilitation of persons with opioid use disorders. A 1-year comprehensive psychosocial intervention (CPI) was developed, and its effectiveness was assessed in terms of its ability to improve community rehabilitation of persons with opioid use disorders after their release from detention in compulsory treatment centers in Shanghai, China.

Methods: Participants were randomized to the CPI (n = 90) condition or the usual community care (UCC, n = 90) as a control condition. The Addiction Severity Index, Symptom Checklist-90, and Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey were administered at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Urine screens were used to increase the validity of self-reported drug use.

Results: Compared with the UCC group at follow-up, the CPI group showed lower scores in 6 dimensions of the Symptom Checklist-90: somatization, obsessive-compulsive, anxiety, phobia-anxiety, paranoia, and psychoticism. Members of the CPI group had higher scores in 2 dimensions of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey—physical role limitation and emotional role limitation—compared with the UCC group (P < 0.05). A logistic regression analysis revealed that phobia-anxiety, lifetime heroin or amphetamine use, and injection drug use were risk factors of relapse, but differences were not found in drug urine test or self-report drug use between the 2 groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: The CPI condition improved participants' mental health and quality of life, and it could be a promising community rehabilitation approach for patients with opioid use disorders in recovery.