Outpatient clinics treating substance use disorders in Northwest Russia and Northern Norway: a descriptive comparative study

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Dahl, Helene M., Rezvyy, Grigory, Bogdanov, Anatoly, Øiesvold, Terje
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Open 2017
• Subjects: Alcohol use disorders; drug use disorders; health services; Barents region; International Classification of Mental Health Care; The European Service Mapping Schedule; VDP::Medisinske Fag: 700::Klinisk medisinske fag: 750; VDP::Medical disciplines: 700::Clinical medical disciplines: 750; Bodø; Norway; Tromsø; Arkhangelsk; barents region; Circumpolar Health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; Northern Norway; Northwest Russia
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10037/12293; https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2017.1411733

Source at https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2017.1411733 . Both in Norway and Russia a considerable portion of the population have substance use disorders. However, the knowledge about outpatient services treating substance use disorders in Norway and Russia is limited. This study will describe and compare outpatient clinics treating substance use disorders in Arkhangelsk in Northwest Russia and in Bodø and Tromsø in Northern Norway on availability, accessibility and treated prevalence (patients treated in one year). The managers (N=3) of the outpatient clinics (N=3) were interviewed with the European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) and the International Classification of Mental Health Care (ICMHC). The interviews were supplemented by e-mail and phone calls. The treatment in Arkhangelsk was mainly biologically oriented (medical), while a greater variety of methods was available in Bodø and Tromsø. The clinic in Russia was a drop-in clinic, while in Norway patients needed a referral to get an appointment in the clinic. Patients treated in Arkhangelsk (treated prevalence) was 1662, while in Bodø it was 233 and in Tromsø 220. The present study revealed great differences between the clinics involved in accessibility, availability and treated prevalence. Cultural traditions and budgeting of the mental health care system could explain some of the findings.