Journal of School of Public Health and

Background and objectives: Relapse after treatment is a common problem among drug addicts in addiction control and prevention programs. About 80% of the addicts relapse into drug abuse within 6 months after treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with drug abuse relapse in patients consulting two selected addiction treatment centers in Tehran. 

Material and Methods: In this case-control study, 160 relapsed patients were compared with 160 abstentious patients. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to collect data. Chi-square test, odds ratio (OR) and logistic regression were performed for data analysis.

Results: The findings showed that factors increasing rate of relapse were smoking after relapse (OR=7.14, CI=3.855-13.244), substance-related cues (OR=6.76, CI= 3.915-11.678), interaction with addict peers (OR=6.38, CI=3.921-10398), malaise (OR=3.93, CI=2.446-6.305), and family conflict (OR=2.04, CI=1.227-3.385). Opium- and dross-addicts were found to be less likely to have a relapse than crack- or pot- users (OR= 0.208, CI-0.128- 0.336). 

Conclusion: The findings of this study reveal that relapse into drug abuse is significantly associated with personal, social, psychological and medical variables. It is recommended to 

integrate family counseling and therapeutic approaches, constant monitoring, and health care in treatment plans in order to reduce the adverse effects of factors such as family conflicts, peer pressure and drug-related cues in patients' likelihood of relapse.   

Background and Aim: Substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors are intermingled. Both subjects, however, are highly sensitive issues culturally in some societies such as Iran, making assessment of sexual behaviors difficult and challenging. It is particularly difficult to assess and study risky sexual behaviors in the drug-using population. Thus, it seems essential to develop and validate a comprehensive native instrument specific for the Iranian drug-using population to screen their risky sexual behaviors and in treatment settings.

Materials and Methods: A thorough literature review was made to find a tool utilized in addiction treatment settings.  The Sex and Drug History Form (SDHF) was translated into Persian. Clients (n = 107) referred to the sexual health clinic in the Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS) were selected randomly. Questionnaires were completed through face-to-face interviews by trained research assistants. Data analysis was done using the Cronbach`s alpha and exploratory factor analysis.

Results: Cronbach`s alpha was found to be 0.78. Using the principal component analysis, the Sex and Drug Screening Scale (SDSS) revealed 78.6 of the total variance in two main domains, namely, drug-use behaviors and sexual behaviors. The number of subscales in the original instrument, which was 3, increased to 6.

Conclusion: Substance abuse and addiction significantly affect one's sexual behaviors and safety. The Sex and Drug Screening Scale will enable health workers and therapists to assess the patients' sexual health and risky behaviors at admission, which will facilitate planning, implementing and evaluating intervention programs aiming at treating addiction.

Background and Aim: Considering that the knowledge of, and attitude towards, sexuality is a key factor influencing sexual behavior, the main objective of this survey was to determine the bases of sexual knowledge and formation of attitude towards sexual script in women of reproductive age in Kashan City, Iran.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including 500 women of reproductive age referring to all health centers in Kashan Iran, selected by simple random sampling,. The data collection tool was the Sexual Knowledge and Attitude Scale (SKAS). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression model.

Results: The age range of the majority of the participants (51.9%) was 26-35 years, and the educational level of 39.9 % of them was high school education. The majority of them had a high level of sexual knowledge and attitude (51.4% and 62.9% respectively). The Pearson correlation test showed a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitude of the women (p<0.05), and based on the multivariate regression analysis their knowledge score correlated with education and economic status and their sexual attitude scores with age and education.

Conclusion: The participating women were young and educated and their knowledge and attitude scores were high. However, they had erroneous attitudes and ideas, such as a feeling of shame and anxiety at intercourse, considering initiation in sexual relation responsibility of the man, and considering childbearing as the main purpose in sexual relations. It is essential to design and implement appropriate educational programs to help the women change their attitudes and ideas.