Quality of life profile of methadone maintenance treatment patients in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

AbstractAimTo determine the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of methadone maintenance treatment patients in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Subject and MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 967 patients treating at two methadone clinics in Ho Chi Minh City, in 2018. Patient’s health-related quality of life was estimated using the EQ-5D-5L and Visual analogue scale (VAS). Tobit regressions were used to identify factors related to patient’s health-related quality of life.ResultsOverall, the mean EQ-5D-5L utility and EQ-VAS indexes were 0.96 (SD = 0.12) and 75.8 (SD=15.5), respectively. Factors related with a higher EQ-5D-5L score included peoples who are single, and have a higher monthly income (more than 4 million VND per month), while patients aged under 30 years old, have full-time employment, and have higher education were associated with a higher EQ-VAS score. HIV was associated with lower scores of both EQ-5D-5L and EQ- VAS (β = -0.07 (95%CI: -0.13; -0.01), and β = -7.10 (95%CI: -9.23; -4.98), respectively).ConclusionHRQoL measurement provides valuable information for the policymaker to adopt suitable decisions on opioid dependence treatment. The finding shows that patients with education, job situation, and socioeconomic status are the related elements with higher HRQoL, which suggested that the policymakers and physicians should pay more attention to these aspects while working on treatment plan for drug users.