Comorbidity between psychological distress and drug use among patients in treatment centres in Jamaica: implications for policies and programme design

This research explored comorbidity between psychological distress and drug use among patients in treatment centres in Jamaica and the possible implications for policy and programme design for treatment centres. The study was cross-sectional and consisted of 56 adult patients of Jamaican nationality, ages 18 to 70 years old being treated in centres for substance use across three parishes. Patients completed a questionnaire consisting of an adapted version of the EULAC-CICAD Admission form; the Kessler Intrument-10; and the Family APGAR scale. Results indicate that 10.7% of the patients were categorized to have severe psychological distress; 32.1% categorized with severe psychological distress. Across the general sample 66.1% have high perceived family functioning, 16.1% perceive moderate family dysfunction and 17.9% perceive severe family dysfunction. The predominant treatment received across the centres was counseling 83.9% and 83.9% of patients reported being satisfied with their treatment. Overall, results may serve as a stepping stone to larger work to be done in the area; so as to capture a better picture of the phenomena as it exists in Jamaica