An exploratory study into the nature of aftercare services for recovering substance abusers
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) established the first National Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Center, called Etegameno Rehabilitation and Resource Center (ERRC), in 2004. It serves to provide treatment and rehabilitation services to alcohol and drug dependent individuals and families during a period of five and a half weeks. Clients who completed treatment at the Centre are invited into an aftercare programme which entails support and follow up counselling. It has been established by the Centre that rehabilitated substance abusers experiences relapse due to lack of adequate aftercare services in the community. The purpose of the study was to explore the nature of this aftercare services by assessing the scope; the activities and the stakeholder’s role in the aftercare services. The study used the qualitative approach to provide in-depth information in understanding the needs of the recovering substance abuser in the aftercare services. The research population consisted of 40 participants including, individuals who completed the alcohol and drug treatment programme at ERRC, families of recovering substance abusers, members of the aftercare groups, and key informants. The research design applied was the Phenomenological Design to assess the full description of participant’s experiences in participating in the aftercare programme. The method of data gathering was face-to-face interviews guided by semi-structured interview schedules. The interviews were recorded and field notes were processed after the interviews. The raw data was analysed by revealing themes and patterns by identifying documents that are linked to the setting. The results indicated that recovering substance abusers need support from families and stakeholders involved in maintaining their recovering. The recovering substance abusers experienced that it is difficult to have an ordinary life after rehabilitation because inpatient treatment centers provided safe, structured environment in which negative influencing factors were removed from a client’s daily experience. Employment or job-related training was identified as an essential part of aftercare services. There is a need to introduce effective, cultural and gender sensitive spiritual programme in order to promote an individualized inclusive and holistic approach to meet the needs of recovering substance abusers. There is a need for developing an aftercare services guideline which could be helpful for professionals responsible for the creation and management of aftercare groups. The study recommends the development of Evidence-Based Aftercare Guidelines for social workers, related professionals and members of the aftercare services.
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