chinaadventure (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chinaadventure) wrote,@ 2007-08-17 15:50:00 |
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Taipei - from Marxism to Methadone
My second trip to Taiwan is proving to be quite a change of pace. As a grad student at the UCLA School of Public Health, I am spending my summer internship working in the Taipei Health Department’s Methadone Clinic. Methadone is used both here and in the United States as a replacement therapy for heroin users because its effects are similar but it is much less addictive. The Methadone clinic gives injectible drug users (IDUs) an opportunity to get treatment for their addiction, and also reduces the infection rates for diseases transmitted through shared needles, such as AIDS and hepatitis. In practice, running a Methadone clinic for heroin users is as difficult practically as it is politically. Heroin is a highly addictive substance; I’ve been told that the relapse rate for Taipei heroin users is close to 90% on the first attempt. Methadone also carries the risk of overdose if patients continue using heroin while on Methadone treatment. Finally, resources for recovering addicts are generally slim outside of the United States; in Taipei, there are two organizations similar to AA that offer behavioral therapy for addicts, but neither is heavily used, which means drug users often receive medical treatments (such as Methadone) for their addictions but may not get treatment for the behavioral or environmental issues that led to their drug use in the first place. Because my internship is only ten weeks, I won’t have the time to address some of the larger barriers to successful AIDS prevention and addiction treatment, such as the tendency for policemen to gather near needle exchange locations and arrest IDUs as they exit with clean needles (in Taiwan, carrying a syringe is considered probable cause, so anyone caught with a syringe can be taken to the nearest police station and required to take a drug test).
My work in the clinic consists of interviewing patients to find out how their Methadone treatment is progressing, as well as finding ways to strengthen the Health Department’s outreach to IDUs. I’m piloting a Chinese-language peer-to-peer advertising campaign to determine if it’s an effective way to reach IDUs and get them to come to the clinic. I created two slogans in Chinese based on data gathered from interviewing IDUs: “Put down the pen and raise a cup!” and “Throw out Number 4, it’s better to come and drink!” “Pen” is a Chinese slang term for “syringe” among IDUs, and “Number 4” is a slang term for heroin that refers to the substance’s purity compared to other drugs. The slogans were edited to follow the three-character or four-character pattern of classical Chinese literature, which all Taiwanese are exposed to from grade school so the slogans would be easier for IDUs to memorize, then tested for comprehension in a small group of clinic patients. Finally, the slogans were printed on stickers that are attached to candy, which patients are given daily after they drink Methadone to take away Methadone’s bitter medicinal taste. The patients each take a few pieces of candy every day, which increases their exposure to the message and also the possibility that they will share it with other IDUs. After a few weeks, I will give the patients a short quiz to see if they remember the slogans or the pictures on the stickers, and will also ask all incoming patients if they have seen or heard of this candy from any of their friends. I want to determine if the candy is an effective way to advertise the clinic, or if it would be more effective to focus on attitude change among patients by continually exposing them to the same message.
Three weeks in, the project is already showing small signs of success. The patients like the candy because it’s free, it takes away the taste of Methadone, and they can pick through the bin to choose their favorite pieces. After a few more weeks, I hope to show enough of an effect from my data to persuade the clinic directors to continue the program after I return to UCLA. That would be the sweet taste of success.
Photos: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
My second trip to Taiwan is proving to be quite a change of pace. As a grad student at the UCLA School of Public Health, I am spending my summer internship working in the Taipei Health Department’s Methadone Clinic. Methadone is used both here and in the United States as a replacement therapy for heroin users because its effects are similar but it is much less addictive. The Methadone clinic gives injectible drug users (IDUs) an opportunity to get treatment for their addiction, and also reduces the infection rates for diseases transmitted through shared needles, such as AIDS and hepatitis. In practice, running a Methadone clinic for heroin users is as difficult practically as it is politically. Heroin is a highly addictive substance; I’ve been told that the relapse rate for Taipei heroin users is close to 90% on the first attempt. Methadone also carries the risk of overdose if patients continue using heroin while on Methadone treatment. Finally, resources for recovering addicts are generally slim outside of the United States; in Taipei, there are two organizations similar to AA that offer behavioral therapy for addicts, but neither is heavily used, which means drug users often receive medical treatments (such as Methadone) for their addictions but may not get treatment for the behavioral or environmental issues that led to their drug use in the first place. Because my internship is only ten weeks, I won’t have the time to address some of the larger barriers to successful AIDS prevention and addiction treatment, such as the tendency for policemen to gather near needle exchange locations and arrest IDUs as they exit with clean needles (in Taiwan, carrying a syringe is considered probable cause, so anyone caught with a syringe can be taken to the nearest police station and required to take a drug test).
My work in the clinic consists of interviewing patients to find out how their Methadone treatment is progressing, as well as finding ways to strengthen the Health Department’s outreach to IDUs. I’m piloting a Chinese-language peer-to-peer advertising campaign to determine if it’s an effective way to reach IDUs and get them to come to the clinic. I created two slogans in Chinese based on data gathered from interviewing IDUs: “Put down the pen and raise a cup!” and “Throw out Number 4, it’s better to come and drink!” “Pen” is a Chinese slang term for “syringe” among IDUs, and “Number 4” is a slang term for heroin that refers to the substance’s purity compared to other drugs. The slogans were edited to follow the three-character or four-character pattern of classical Chinese literature, which all Taiwanese are exposed to from grade school so the slogans would be easier for IDUs to memorize, then tested for comprehension in a small group of clinic patients. Finally, the slogans were printed on stickers that are attached to candy, which patients are given daily after they drink Methadone to take away Methadone’s bitter medicinal taste. The patients each take a few pieces of candy every day, which increases their exposure to the message and also the possibility that they will share it with other IDUs. After a few weeks, I will give the patients a short quiz to see if they remember the slogans or the pictures on the stickers, and will also ask all incoming patients if they have seen or heard of this candy from any of their friends. I want to determine if the candy is an effective way to advertise the clinic, or if it would be more effective to focus on attitude change among patients by continually exposing them to the same message.
Three weeks in, the project is already showing small signs of success. The patients like the candy because it’s free, it takes away the taste of Methadone, and they can pick through the bin to choose their favorite pieces. After a few more weeks, I hope to show enough of an effect from my data to persuade the clinic directors to continue the program after I return to UCLA. That would be the sweet taste of success.
Photos: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
