Todd-Kvam John, Sugahara Gustavo, Muller Ashley Elizabeth, Clausen Thomas
Hospital of Southern Norway, Sørlandet Sykehus HF, Postboks 416 Lundsiden, Kristiansand, 4604, Norway.
Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research, University of Oslo, Postboks 1039 Blindern, Oslo, 0315, Norway.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Mar 26;25(1):1151. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22438-4.
Norway has an increasing number of ageing opioid agonist treatment (OAT) patients, with 44% of the 8200 Norwegian OAT patients over 50 in 2023.
This study examines the narratives of ageing OAT patients through semi-structured interviews with twelve patients who had been in OAT for 10-20+ years. We used narrative analysis to understand what they experience as important in enhancing or diminishing their quality of life as they age.
Positive relationships, treatment, and stable housing were narrated as enhancing quality of life, while loneliness and isolation, memory problems, comorbidities, and victimization were narrated as diminishing it.
Patients experience OAT as both lifesaving as well as potentially limiting their life-quality, illustrating the inbuilt dilemmas of OAT. The study suggests an age-informed treatment model and identifies three thematic implications for practice and further research (on memory issues, victimisation and network-building).
挪威接受阿片类药物激动剂治疗(OAT)的老年患者数量不断增加,2023年,8200名接受OAT治疗的挪威患者中有44%年龄超过50岁。
本研究通过对12名接受OAT治疗10至20多年的患者进行半结构化访谈,考察了老年OAT患者的经历。我们采用叙事分析来了解随着年龄增长,他们认为哪些因素对提高或降低生活质量至关重要。
积极的人际关系、治疗和稳定的住房被认为能提高生活质量,而孤独与孤立、记忆问题、合并症和受害经历则被认为会降低生活质量。
患者认为OAT既能挽救生命,也可能限制生活质量,这说明了OAT内在的困境。该研究提出了一个考虑年龄因素的治疗模式,并确定了对实践和进一步研究(关于记忆问题、受害经历和网络建设)的三个主题性启示。