Analyse of availability specific services for drug addicts in Cheb´s region

This bachelor degree thesis deals with an analysis of availability of specific services for drug addicts in the region of Cheb and it is divided into two parts: theoretical and practical. The theoretical part describes the current status of issues relating to the topic, based on information available from literature and other sources. The first chapter of the theoretical part contains an overview of the history of addiction treatment in the Czech Republic. The next chapter focuses on the definition of addiction, according to the International Classification of Diseases (MKN-10) and the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV). Subsections of that chapter identify specific differences between diagnostic criteria applied by the two manuals. The third chapter contains a description of five stages of drug addiction, as defined by Kamil Kalina. The chapter also identifies the current prevalence of drug abuse, occurrence of infectious diseases and adequate specific services for the individual stages. The theoretical part also mentions a model of how drug addictions develop, which determines specific approaches to the assistance provided to drug users. Another chapter of this bachelor degree thesis deals with methods of drug prevention and its structure, followed by chapters specifically describing individual components of the system of care of drug addicts in the Czech Republic. Each component is also described from the viewpoint of its availability in the region of Cheb. The information has been obtained from a secondary analysis of data provided by individual facilities and from annual reports of the town of Cheb. The purpose of the thesis was to analyze availability of specific services (including Harm reduction) in the region of Cheb, to map the level of utilization of the specific services by drug addicts in the location and to evaluate effectiveness of the services provided in the region. The practical part contains an interpretation of results of a quantitative research conducted in the region of Cheb. The research used the method of semi-controlled interviews with a target group of non-alcohol drug addicts. The respondents were selected based on quota sampling. The group consisted of 15 respondents in total, while 3 of them had been approached through the K-center Cheb Kotec o. s., 4 respondents through a street work program and the remaining 8 respondents had been found by the so-called ``gatekeepers``. Statements of the respondents were compared with interviews conducted with K-center employees and street workers in order to confirm or rebut previously defined hypotheses. The research has shown that the specific services have been used more by intravenous drug addicts in comparison with those using non-invasive, less risky methods. The most sought-after are the services which minimize risks of drug abuse, in comparison with treatment interventions. Statements of the respondents have also indicated a lower local availability of certain specific services, particularly the methadone center and street work. The discussion chapter compares the obtained results with those found in literature referred to in the theoretical part of the thesis. The conclusions contain recommendations which are based on outcomes of the research