Methodology of assessment of client satisfaction with opioid substitution program was initiated and developed in 2019 by EHRA together with Support, Research and Development Center (Ukraine) and community of people who use drugs.
Approach to this study is based on the principles of equal partnership between the community of people who use drugs and/or receive opioid maintenance therapy and professional researchers. Approval of the methodology provided by the Ethics Review Board of the Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy makes it possible to conduct similar studies in other countries. The study design, interview guides and informed voluntary consent form all should be specified in the study protocol and reviewed by the relevant ethics committee (the Ethics Review Board).
The research methodology suggests mixed–method approach, so it is important that the selected researchers have a good grasp of both qualitative and quantitative methods. They should also have experience analysing both types of data.
The quantitative component of the study includes:
• World Health Organisation’s quality of life assessment questionnaire WHOQOL-BREF
• questionnaire related to participation in the OST program, which was developed on the basis of a pilot study conducted in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast (Ukraine)
Within the study conducted in Western Georgia the team has also added WHO Patient Health Questionnaire, which includes 2 screening questions for anxiety and 2 for depression, taken from GAD-7 and PHQ-9.
In 2021 similar studies will be conducted in Moldova and Montenegro.