Outpatient clinics treating substance use disorders in Northwest Russia and Northern Norway: a descriptive comparative study

ABSTRACT

Both in Norway and Russia a considerable portion of the population have substance use disorders. However, the knowledge about outpatient services treating substance use disorders in Norway and Russia is limited. This study will describe and compare outpatient clinics treating substance use disorders in Arkhangelsk in Northwest Russia and in Bodø and Tromsø in Northern Norway on availability, accessibility and treated prevalence (patients treated in one year). The managers (N=3) of the outpatient clinics (N=3) were interviewed with the European Service Mapping Schedule (ESMS) and the International Classification of Mental Health Care (ICMHC). The interviews were supplemented by e-mail and phone calls. The treatment in Arkhangelsk was mainly biologically oriented (medical), while a greater variety of methods was available in Bodø and Tromsø. The clinic in Russia was a drop-in clinic, while in Norway patients needed a referral to get an appointment in the clinic. Patients treated in Arkhangelsk (treated prevalence) was 1662, while in Bodø it was 233 and in Tromsø 220. The present study revealed great differences between the clinics involved in accessibility, availability and treated prevalence. Cultural traditions and budgeting of the mental health care system could explain some of the findings.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol use disorders
• drug use disorders
• health services
• Barents region
• International Classification of Mental Health Care
• the European Service Mapping Schedule

Authors’ contributions

TØ designed the study; GR and HMD collected the data; HMD conducted the data analysis; AB and GR gave elaborative information concerning the Russian system; all authors were involved in writing the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Acknowledgements

The study is supported mainly by a grant from the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority (HN), HN project number RUS 984-10, Identification number 3916. In addition Nordland hospital supported the study. The publication charges for this article have been funded by a grant from the publication fund of UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The funders were not involved in preparing the article. We thank the staff of the outpatient clinics treating substance use disorders in Arkhangelsk County, Russia, and in Bodø and Tromsø in Northern Norway for their contribution to our study. We also thank Professor Brita Elvevåg, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, for language support.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

The study is supported mainly by a grant from the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority (HN), HN project number RUS 984-10, Identification number 3916. In addition Nordland Hospital supported the study. The publication charges for this article have been funded by a grant from the publication fund of UiT, The Arctic University of Norway. The funders were not involved in preparing the article.