The objective of Via’ s innovation and research unit is to evaluate the interventions that we deliver, ensuring they are evidence-based and make a meaningful difference to the lives of the people we support.
Devon De Silva, innovation and research unit manager at Via The objective of Via’ s innovation and research unit is to evaluate the interventions that we deliver, ensuring they are evidence-based and make a meaningful difference to the lives of the people we support. To help us better understand the findings from this research, I conducted interviews with three Via clinicians and six people who use our services.
The interviews gave us an insight into the predictors of how people will engage with LAIB and also showcased the reallife positive impact that LAIB can have on people’ s quality of life:
OUTCOMES Key themes included people:
– having‘ no sweating, no withdrawal’
– being able to‘ engage in [ their ] relationship [ s ]’ again
– now‘ having [ their ] own business … making a profit’
– feeling‘ normal again’ due to no longer having to go to the pharmacy, a place they’ d felt stigmatised
– having‘ forgotten the fact [ they’ d ] had a drug addiction’
One individual described LAIB as his‘ desperate last chance’ and that he is now‘ able to focus, am clean and can concentrate on … life.’
We’ re not saying that LAIB solves every issue or that it’ s even suitable for everyone. But what our research and interviews do show is that LAIB can make a significant difference to the lives of the people who are prescribed it.
We believe LAIB should be a treatment option available for people, and that more research is required to help address the challenges of limited funding for LAIB within the sector. Via and LJMU have recently secured additional funding to explore the socio-economic benefits of LAIB, to aid with this ongoing challenge.
INCREASED QUALITY OF LIFE Quotes from people who were interviewed:
‘ With heroin, you wake up needing a fix but now we can lie in bed and have a tea … we can engage in our relationship.’
Professor Cathy Montgomery presents research from Via and LMJU at the Via in-person panel session event
someone would be prescribed LAIB, we used available demographic information. To examine whether LAIB had an impact on a person’ s wellbeing and quality of life, we compared:
– The difference in Treatment Outcome Profile( TOP) scores; the change between the first and final recorded TOP scores.
– Summary TOP scores; the average across all an individual’ s TOP scores.
HEADLINE FINDINGS
– Predictors: People prescribed LAIB were significantly younger, had significantly more treatment episodes and significantly higher rates of employment.
– Outcomes: The people prescribed LAIB reported significantly higher quality of life. The analysis of the TOPS summary scores also found that those using LAIB reported significantly greater psychological and physical health.
PREDICTORS
– More treatment episodes – due to the limited funding for LAIB, services have to prioritise who they offer it to, and this can include prioritising those‘ struggling with engagement or that are high risk’.
– High rates of employment – those who are employed may find it difficult to regularly attend a pharmacy, so may also be prioritised.
– Significantly younger – those who were older appear to be less likely to engage with LAIB:‘ maybe because they’ re used to methadone’.
SHARING THE RESEARCH
‘ Having to go to the pharmacy all the time … [ they ] looked down their noses at you and treated you like you’ re nothing … [ LAIB has ] made me normal again.’
‘ Heroin affected my sleep … I’ m now running on my own energy. Buzzing on life.’
‘ Ten years ago I was sleeping in my car, now I’ ve got my own business, my own house, my partner.’
‘ I’ ve got a young man with mental health and his mum is his carer. [ LAIB ] gives them one less thing to worry about.’
The full Via and LJMU research study has recently been published in BMJOpen and is available to read here: https:// bmjopen. bmj. com / content / 15 / 2 / e090736. full.
In November 2024, Via and LJMU showcased this research at the Society for the Study of Addiction annual conference and at a Via in-person panel session event with commissioners, stakeholders, colleagues and people with lived experience.
Via will be hosting a second Advances in opioid substitution treatment event in Cheshire on 10 April. You can register to attend here: https:// bit. ly / 4hS9M2i
If you’ re interested in finding out more about this research study, please contact IRU @ viaorg. uk.
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