Assessment of the Burden and Causes of Mortality in Compulsory Residential Drug Treatment Centers Under the Supervision of State Welfare Organization

Objectives The residential addiction treatment centers in Iran are to some extent successful in the treatment of drug addicts and psychotropic substance users, but reports on high prevalence of mortality in residential treatment centers are a matter of concern and should be investigated. The current study aimed at investigating the causes of mortality in residential addiction treatment centers in Iran. Methods The current descriptive retrospective study was conducted on a population including all mortalities in all middle and long-term residential addiction treatment centers from 2011 to 2016. The data were collected through two questionnaires. The first questionnaire elicited data about the residential addiction treatment centers and the second questionnaire elicited the data related to mortality cases. The residential addiction treatment centers completed questionnaires based on the secondary information from the patients' reports. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 19. Results Overall, during the five years of the study period, 107 people died in the residential addiction treatment centers from which their reports were received. The proportion of deaths among the subjects sentenced to residential treatment centers related to Article 16 of addiction amendment (47 per 100000 individuals) was higher than the ratio of deaths among the ones voluntarily referred to normal residential addiction treatment centers (21 per 100000 individuals). The average time of occurrence of death after admission to residential addiction treatment at the centers was 11 days. Cardiovascular disease and substance overdose/withdrawal were reported as the most important causes of death among drug addicts under treatment in the residential addiction treatment centers. Conclusion The total number of deaths in residential addiction treatment centers increased from 2011 to the year 2015, and the mortality level was higher among the ones sentenced to residential treatment centers related to Article 16 addiction amendment. Most of the deaths could be prevented with timely and effective measures.