Objective To investigate the cost and compliance of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) among drug users in regions with different economic development in Yunnan province.
Methods Using stratified random sampling, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey between September 2014 and September 2015 among 1 678 drug users under MMT at 10 MMT clinics in 5 municipalities with various economic development indicated by regional gross domestic product in Yunnan province. Rank-sum tests was employed in data analysis.
Results The daily medication cost for each participant was 5 to 8 yuan (RMB). The average time for each one-way MMT clinic visit was 23.46 ± 18.65 minutes; the main way for the participants to visit a MMT clinic was by riding an electric bicycle or riding a bike and the mean cost for a round-trip MMT clinic visit was 9.39 ± 6.57 yuan and the average total expenditure for having a MMT service was 16.92 ± 7.61 yuan. Both the proportion of receiving allowance for MMT and visiting a MMT clinic more than 20 times per month were higher (80.5%, 286/355 and 80.62%, 287/355) among the participants in the regions with low economic development.
Conclusion The time and economic cost of a MMT service for drug users are reversely correlated with the economic development of the region the drug users reside in, suggesting that for drug users in various regions, the MMT-related economic burden differs by regional economic development and increasing allowance for drug users under MMT could promote them having more clinic visits.
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