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<p>Recovery is an important component in the treatment of addiction-related policy making. Although there have been many studies on addiction in West Asia, the meaning of addiction recovery from the substance users’ point of view has not been explored. In this study, we assessed Iranian drug users’ perspectives on recovery from addiction. A qualitative content analysis study design was utilized where 31 substance users from 5 major Iranian provinces were recruited via purposeful and convenient sampling. Sampling was terminated when data saturation occurred. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim and the text was open-coded. Evolving concepts were regrouped to form abstract categories and these were sorted, compared, and contrasted systematically. Finally, the findings were compared with the original tapes, and equality between texts, extracted categories, and themes was ensured. Twenty men and eleven women participated in the study (age range of 19 to 60 years). All the participants had repeatedly experienced drug withdrawal. The research participants believed “<i>Total abstinence</i>” and “<i>Sustained behavior change</i>” were two main conditions of recovery. They described recovery as a <i>“Voluntary process”</i> and emphasized that <i>“Social acceptance”</i> of drug users is essential for recovery. According to Iranian drug users, recovery is a process of voluntary total abstinence, without replacing the previous substance with another along with positive, sustainable, and visible changes in a person’s behaviors. Practitioners in Iran and neighboring regions can use these findings to help recovering addicts and inform policymaking initiatives on the treatment of substance use disorders.</p>

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Substance Users’ Perspectives on Recovery From Addiction: A field study from Iran

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月3日

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  • Masoomeh Maarefvand,
  • Jagdish Khubchandani

摘要

Recovery is an important component in the treatment of addiction-related policy making. Although there have been many studies on addiction in West Asia, the meaning of addiction recovery from the substance users’ point of view has not been explored. In this study, we assessed Iranian drug users’ perspectives on recovery from addiction. A qualitative content analysis study design was utilized where 31 substance users from 5 major Iranian provinces were recruited via purposeful and convenient sampling. Sampling was terminated when data saturation occurred. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim and the text was open-coded. Evolving concepts were regrouped to form abstract categories and these were sorted, compared, and contrasted systematically. Finally, the findings were compared with the original tapes, and equality between texts, extracted categories, and themes was ensured. Twenty men and eleven women participated in the study (age range of 19 to 60 years). All the participants had repeatedly experienced drug withdrawal. The research participants believed “Total abstinence” and “Sustained behavior change” were two main conditions of recovery. They described recovery as a “Voluntary process” and emphasized that “Social acceptance” of drug users is essential for recovery. According to Iranian drug users, recovery is a process of voluntary total abstinence, without replacing the previous substance with another along with positive, sustainable, and visible changes in a person’s behaviors. Practitioners in Iran and neighboring regions can use these findings to help recovering addicts and inform policymaking initiatives on the treatment of substance use disorders.