RT Journal Article
T1 How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Addiction Services? A Study of the Different Periods of the Pandemic and Patient Treatment Follow-up Over 1 Year
A1 Narváez Camargo, Marta
A1 Mancheño Velasco, Cinta
A1 Díaz Batanero, María Carmen
A1 Fernández Calderón, Fermín
A1 Lozano Rojas, Óscar Martín
AB Bac kgro und: Various studies have provided evidence of the impact of COVID-19 and the measures adopted by governments on druguse and its treatment. After 4 years, a more precise assessment of the evolution of patients and addiction treatment services can be made.The objective of this study is to compare different periods during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify changes in patient profiles and the careactivity of addiction treatment centres.Methods : A retrospective observational study was conducted using data from March 14, 2019 to June 22, 2022, from addiction centresof Andalusia (Spain). Information related to the treatment of each patient was collected during 1 year after the initiation of treatment (until June22, 2023). Electronic health records of 29 740 outpatients were analysed and divided into 4 periods (pre-pandemic, lockdown, return to normaland post-lockdown).Results : Differences were found across the analysed periods. Admissions declined during the lockdown period but subsequentlyincreased, without reaching pre-pandemic levels. Admission to treatment due to opioid dependence increased during the lockdown. In contrast,the percentage of patients with dual pathology decreased. An increase in the dropout rate of patients from treatment was observedcompared to the pre-pandemic period.Conclusio ns: The results revealed a similar patient profile across the different analysed periods. The most notable changes are observedin healthcare activity, which appears to have decreased. Therefore, a greater investment is likely required for the reformulation of addictioncentres and increased funding to provide adequate assistance to these patients
PB SAGE Publications
SN 2976-8357 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-01
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25568
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25568
LA eng
NO Narváez-Camargo, M., Mancheño-Velasco, C., Díaz-Batanero, C., Fernández-Calderón, F., & Lozano, O. M. (2025). How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Addiction Services? A Study of the Different Periods of the Pandemic and Patient Treatment Follow-up Over 1 Year. Substance Use: Research and Treatment, 19. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768357241306717
NO The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for theresearch, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by thegrant ‘Evolución de la actividad asistencial y los resultados del tratamiento de pacientescon trastorno por consume de sustancias en Andalucía durante las diferentes fases de lapandemia Covid-19’, project EXP 2022/08882 by Delegación para el Gobierno del PlanNacional sobre Drogas (Spain) from the European Union’s Recovery, Transformation andResilicience Mechanism.This study has been developed thanks to the transfer of data bythe Department of Equality, Social Policies and Conciliation ofthe Junta de Andalucía
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026