The differences in Quality of Life between the Heroin Addicts treated in Methadone Program and Addicts treated in the Frame of Therapeutic Community Program

Aim of the study was comparing the quality of life of addicts treated in frame of methadone substitution programs and addicts undergoing the rehabilitation on the frame of therapeutic community.We have done a crossover study in the Center for Prevention and Out-patient Treatment in Mostar.We have included 60 subjects in our study.All of them were heroin addicts, referred to the Center for Prevention and Out-patient Treatment in Mostar, who satisfied the DSM-IV criteria for the addiction disease.The subjects have been divided in three groups: 1) group of just-admitted patients (N=20), 2) group of patients who had spent six months in methadone program (N=20) and 3) group of patient who had spent six months in the therapeutic community program (N=20).In this study, we have gathered data for social-demographic variables such as age, education, marital and professional status and variables related to the addiction, such as duration of addiction, manner of drug administration, alcohol use and presence of HCV, HBV or HIV viral infections.For the estimation of quality of life, we have used the "Quality of life index", to measure the perception of the important areas of life, such as health and functioning in the fields of social, economic, psychological and spiritual domains.A majority of subjects from this sample had achieved the secondary school education and were of similar age, unmarried, mostly unemployed and only a smaller number of them were living alone, out of their primary families.The groups tested have not significantly differed considering those living conditions which reflect the quality of life.The results of addiction variables had showed that a majority of subjects administered the drug intravenously, there were no significant differences concerning the