The Association Between Substance Use Disorders and Employment Status Among Patients on Treatment and Follow Up in Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital

Abstract

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a chronic problem among substance users and are usually associated with poor outcomes in employment. Persons with substance use disorders commonly experience socioeconomic vulnerability such as, unemployment, underemployment and low income. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the association of Substance use disorders and employment status among patients on treatment and follow up in Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (MNTRH) Research tools and Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study where data was collected from 222 patients recruited via systematic simple random sampling in general wards and CSAT unit. A researcher designed socio-demographic questionnaire and the ASSIST Version 3.1 was used to collect data. Data was collected analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Results: Majority of the study participants were male (83.8%). The mean age was 29.1% with age of onset of substance being 16-20 years and the most affected group between 21-30 years. The most prevalent Substance use disorders (SUDs) were Alcohol (75.2%), Tobacco (60.8%), Cannabis (48.2%). The middle socioeconomic status prevalence (SES) for all SUDs was 55.9% yet the lower SES showed a statistically significant association (P-0.005) with Alcohol use disorder (AUD). Cannabis use disorder was also more significantly associated (low odds) with educational level. This was especially noted specifically with primary (OR (95% CI) 0.3 (0.1 – 0.9) p-0.040), high school (OR (95% CI) 0.2 (0.1 – 0.6) p -0.006 and college (OR (95% CI) 0.4 (0.1 – 0.8), p-0.016). SUDs were found to have significantly associated with both current and past employment status and loss of employment. Bivariate analysis showed significant association with self-employment and alcohol(p-0.045) and tobacco (p-0.034) use disorders. Statistically significant association between Cannabis use disorder with full time employment (P-0.005), unemployment/ looking for work (p-0.005) and unemployment/not looking for work (p<0.001)- bivariate analysis. Conclusion: The prevalence rate of Substance use disorders is still high among patients and are significantly associated with sociodemographic characteristic and employment status of participants.