Motivações atribuídas por usuários de drogas ao acesso às comunidades terapêuticas para tratamento

Abstract

The day-to day experience of illicit drug users is an extremely vulnerable life not only for the users but also for society´s integrity. Understanding their experience and change the attributions provoked by them during the period in which they used drugs are relevant since the different care spheres involved in the process may include new approaches in their strategies to cope with and avoid drugs, due to their need for care and attention. The motif of current research comprised: What are the motivations by illicit drug users to voluntarily access the Therapeutic Communities for treatment? Current analysis aims at understanding the motivation factors attributed by users of illicit drugs to discontinue abuse and seek treatment. Current descriptive, exploratory and qualitative research involves interviews with 25 residents at two therapeutic communities in a municipality in the northwestern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil, between December and February 2015. Data analysis was based on Bardin´s content analysis. The Committee for Ethics in Research of the Universidade Estadual de Maringá, protocol 910.552, approved current study according to Resolution 466/2012. Results motivated two articles: "The feelings of illicit drug users to discontinue their use and seek treatment" and "The meaning of social support within the perspective of the illicit drug user under treatment". The former evidenced a category and three sub-categories: Pathways to discontinue illicit drug abuse and three sub-items: "Living with illicit drugs", "Feeling the family´s care" and "Seeking freedom from illicit drugs (Turning point)". In the second article two categories emerged: "Experiencing informal support while seeking freedom from illicit drugs" and "Seeking a social network of formal support". Results showed affidavits full of emotion and expectations and the feelings lived by them were high during the period of drug abuse. There were also many motivations for the discontinuity of their use and the abandonment of such a vulnerable condition. Users perceived a network of social support made up of families, friends, people without any apparent affection bonds, help groups and health professionals. Results show that the understanding of the experiences of the residents for the treatment of drug abuse and their weaknesses is highly important to patients, population, health professionals and other care-giving people involved in the establishment or inclusion of new informal care strategies and in treatment-efficient public policies.