Abstract
Introduction
This paper is concerned with the study of comparison of socio-demographic characteristics and mental health status among drug users who experienced staying in rehabilitation center and in the communities and identify risk factors associated with mental health disorder.
Methods
This study is analyzed the existing data on the Integrated Biological and Behavioral Survey (IBBS) and size estimation among PWUD and PWID, 2012 from NCHADS, Cambodia. There were 1,620 samples including 241 drug users in rehabilitation center, and 1,379 drug users in communities). We used Chi-square test and cross tabulation to describe the socio-demographic detail of drug users both staying in rehabilitation center and in the communities. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify the factors that associated with mental disorder.
Results
Overall, drug user experienced living in the rehab and prison (DURP) had mental health disorder (48.5%) significantly higher than drug user experienced living in the communities (DUNRP) who was estimated at 34.2% (p value <0.001). Mental health disorder was significantly associated with DURP with the adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.58 (95% CI: 1.16–2.16), drug users living on the street (AOR= 1.80, 95% CI: 1.32-2.46), injecting drug users (AOR = 4.02, 95% CI: 1.47-10.98), and longer duration of drug use more than 10 years (AOR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.27-2.45)
Conclusion
The finding suggests that DURP are more at risk of having problems with mental health drug users who not experienced staying in rehab and prison (DUNRP) that might be due to a number of reasons including the distress from drug craving, rule or discipline as well as violent condition. Anxiety, depression may result from this living condition. Drug user who lived on the street, injecting drug users, and long duration of drug use had exposed to higher risk of having mental health disorder to some extent. Therefore, the findings would be guided the mental health and substance abuse program and harm reduction program to develop the evidence-based intervention targeting respective drug users.