Quality of life whilst ageing in opioid agonist treatment: a narrative analysis.

IF 3.5 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

BMC Public Health Pub Date : 2025-03-26 DOI:10.1186/s12889-025-22438-4

John Todd-Kvam, Gustavo Sugahara, Ashley Elizabeth Muller, Thomas Clausen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Norway has an increasing number of ageing opioid agonist treatment (OAT) patients, with 44% of the 8200 Norwegian OAT patients over 50 in 2023.

Methods: This study examines the narratives of ageing OAT patients through semi-structured interviews with twelve patients who had been in OAT for 10-20+ years. We used narrative analysis to understand what they experience as important in enhancing or diminishing their quality of life as they age.

Results: Positive relationships, treatment, and stable housing were narrated as enhancing quality of life, while loneliness and isolation, memory problems, comorbidities, and victimization were narrated as diminishing it.

Conclusion: Patients experience OAT as both lifesaving as well as potentially limiting their life-quality, illustrating the inbuilt dilemmas of OAT. The study suggests an age-informed treatment model and identifies three thematic implications for practice and further research (on memory issues, victimisation and network-building).

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来源期刊

BMC Public Health 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

4.40%

发文量

2108

审稿时长

1 months

期刊介绍： BMC Public Health is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health. The journal has a special focus on the social determinants of health, the environmental, behavioral, and occupational correlates of health and disease, and the impact of health policies, practices and interventions on the community.