The Eurasian Harm Reduction Association presented a study to assess client satisfaction with substitution therapy programs in Western Georgia. The study was conducted by a research team from the Addiction Research Institute of Ilya State University and the Global Psychiatry Initiative Tbilisi and the Rubiconi community-based organization team, in close collaboration and with the support of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA).
The project included collaboration with colleagues from Ukraine, as well as with the team that conducted a similar community-based study in Ukraine in 2019 with the support of the EHRA.
The aim of the study was to examine the degree of satisfaction of beneficiaries with the services of opioid substitution therapy (OST) programs in western Georgia, as well as their quality of life and the factors that determine their level of satisfaction and quality of life.
The study was carried out within the “mixed methods” approach, the study design combined elements of qualitative and quantitative methodology. As part of the qualitative component, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the beneficiaries of OST programs in western Georgia, and the quantitative one – cross-sectional research involving a representative sample of beneficiaries of OST programs in western Georgia from cities such as Batumi, Kutaisi, Sachkhere, Senaki, Zestafoni and Zugdidi. The following indicators were used in the study: confidence interval – 95%, margin of error – 5%, coverage – 50% of beneficiaries during 3 days of the study. The sample size was calculated separately for each category. The randomized selection of government agencies was carried out as follows: government agencies were divided into 2 categories: small service delivery points (less than 200 patients) and large service delivery points (more than 200 patients). The sample size for private institutions was calculated based on the total number of beneficiaries of the three available centers. The total number of respondents was 685 people.
The study showed that only 85% of the respondents who were included in the sample were tested for HIV and hepatitis C, of which 6 respondents received positive HIV test results – 5 of them received ART, and one did not receive treatment. The prevalence of hepatitis C among respondents who were tested for this disease was 59.8%, while 17% of them had never received appropriate treatment. The majority of respondents (94.2%) stated that they need OST services, while only 33% indicated that they also need other medical services, which indicates their low awareness of their own needs for treatment. At the same time, the results of the study showed a statistically significant relationship between the presence of viral diseases and a lower level of life satisfaction.
The Western Georgia Opioid Substitution Treatment Client Satisfaction Survey is available at our Resource Center. Here is a short report on the study (in Russian):