[Study on job support programs for drug addicts in japan: results of a nationwide survey on drug addiction rehabilitation centers (DARC)].

Abstract

In Japan, many drug addiction rehabilitation centers (DARC) provide various types of recovery programs for drug addiction. The purpose of this study was to clarify the attitudes of DARC staff and users regarding job support programs. A nationwide questionnaire survey was conducted in 2009. The staff of 46 facilities and 606 users returned questionnaires. The results indicated that many (92.1%) users had work experience before entering the recovery programs provided by DARC and about half (49.3%) of the users reported being motivated to work. Although many DARC have established various job support programs, the users faced various levels of anxieties to get employed and 60.4% of the users expected to learn more detailed and concrete methods for finding a job. Through the DARC programs, the users gradually realize the significance of basic daily living skills such as maintaining their rhythm of life or neat and presentable appearance. And the more they get recovered the more they understand the significance of "self-care" and "interpersonal relationship skills". These findings indicate that job support programs for drug addicts should also focus on these recovery processes. More extensive job supports dealing with more practical issues and covering a wide variety of anxieties would be imperative.