The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Population of Addicts Undergoing Substitution Therapy

Background: The pandemic of the new corona virus has taken its toll on the mental health of entire humankind with special impact on vulnerable groups, such as drug users in substitution treatment. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the population of opiate addicts who are on substitution therapy. Methods: The research was conducted in the Institute of Addiction Diseases of the ZE-DO canton on the population of patients addicted to opiates who are included in the substitution therapy program. The sample of 80 patients was randomly selected with respect to the inclusion criteria. An 8-parameter questionnaire with symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder, ranked by intensity on the Likert scale from 0 to 4, was used as a measuring instrument. The change in these symptoms in the one-year period before the pandemic to the one-year period of the pandemic are compared. The results are analyzed in descriptive statistics using the SPSS program. The statistical significance was monitored by the χ2 test. Results: The results of this research show an apperent statistically significant increase in the symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder, as well as an increase in drug abuse during the pandemic period compared to the period before it. Conclusion: Results imply the existence of a significant adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of treated opiate addicts. This research impose the need to affirm the prevention of further abuse of illegal substances, as well as the introduction of new customized programs through various psychosocial interventions and therapies carried out by psychiatrists and psychologists. Telemedicine presents itself as useful way of intervention and treatment.