Exploring the Daily Lives of People on Methadone Maintenance Treatment: An Occupational Perspective

Katrina Warren, Suzanne Huot, Lilian Magalhães and Marilyn Evans
Additional contact information
Katrina Warren: Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Graduate Program, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada
Suzanne Huot: School of Occupational Therapy, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada
Lilian Magalhães: School of Occupational Therapy, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada
Marilyn Evans: School of Nursing, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada

Societies, 2016, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: A qualitative study was undertaken with five people on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) to better understand their experiences and daily routines. Through an in-depth exploration of their everyday occupations, we sought to reveal the ongoing challenges and barriers they face to accessing treatment. The concept of occupation refers to ‘all that people need, want and are required to do’ but also extends further to encompass ‘how doing contributes to processes of being, becoming and belonging’ (Huot and Laliberte Rudman, 2015). This research employed a qualitative intrinsic case study methodology (Stake, 2005). Using an occupational perspective informed by a framework for occupational justice (Stadnyk et al., 2005), the participants’ narratives are presented according to four themes highlighting key aspects of their experiences: (a) descent into chaos; (b) MMT as a bridge to recovery from addiction; (c) a new normal daily life; and (d) hopes for moving forward. The findings illustrate how structural factors and contextual factors interact to create occupational injustices. Thus, MMT practices and policies should consider the occupational implications described in this article to enhance patients’ experiences and further support their recovery.

Keywords: activities of daily living; addiction; case study; methadone maintenance treatment (MMT); occupation; occupational science; qualitative; routine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/6/3/27/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/6/3/27/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:6:y:2016:i:3:p:27-:d:77278

Access Statistics for this article

Societies is currently edited by Ms. Farrah Sun

More articles in Societies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().