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Access to substance abuse treatment in the Cape Town metropole ...

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dim<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g self-efficacy and motivation for <strong>treatment</strong>. Additional support for thisexplanation arises from f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs (from <strong>the</strong> quantitative phase of <strong>the</strong> study) thataffordability barriers and compet<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>ancial needs are significantly associatedwith reductions <strong>in</strong> self-efficacy and motivation for <strong>treatment</strong>. Political decisionsregard<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> allocation of resources <strong>to</strong> <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong> <strong>treatment</strong> thus <strong>in</strong>form<strong>the</strong> organisation of <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong> <strong>treatment</strong> resources (such as wait<strong>in</strong>gperiods for <strong>treatment</strong> and <strong>the</strong> affordability of available <strong>treatment</strong> options) andconsequently <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong> <strong>treatment</strong> utilization among HDCs.6.2.3.2. Socio-demographic differences on affordability of <strong>treatment</strong>In addition, female <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong>rs from HDCs seem <strong>to</strong> have more barriersrelat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> affordability of <strong>treatment</strong> than <strong>the</strong>ir male counterparts. Forexample, <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong>rs earn<strong>in</strong>g less than R500 per month were more thantwice as likely <strong>to</strong> be female than male. In addition, compared <strong>to</strong> males, <strong>the</strong> oddsof hav<strong>in</strong>g compet<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>ancial needs tripled for female <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong>rs. Thesef<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs suggest that compared <strong>to</strong> men, women’s ability <strong>to</strong> afford <strong>substance</strong><strong>abuse</strong> <strong>treatment</strong> is significantly lower. Interventions that address barriers <strong>to</strong><strong>treatment</strong> among women should <strong>the</strong>refore focus not only on <strong>the</strong> provision ofaffordable <strong>treatment</strong> options, but should also address fac<strong>to</strong>rs that compete withwomen’s ability <strong>to</strong> pay for <strong>treatment</strong>, such as <strong>the</strong> provision of food and shelter fordependents.Interventions that enhance <strong>the</strong> provision of social support, particularly tangiblesupport provision (such as food, cloth<strong>in</strong>g or o<strong>the</strong>r basic necessities) for womenmay reduce <strong>the</strong> impact of compet<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>ancial priorities on <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong><strong>treatment</strong> utilization. The f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g that higher levels of social support aresignificantly associated with fewer compet<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>ancial needs provides support forthis suggestion. Fur<strong>the</strong>r support for this suggestion arises from previousresearch which has identified a lack of tangible support as an important barrier <strong>to</strong><strong>treatment</strong> for <strong>substance</strong> <strong>abuse</strong>rs (Appel et al., 2004; Brown et al., 2004; Tuckeret al., 2004). <strong>Access</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>treatment</strong> could <strong>the</strong>refore be facilitated by <strong>the</strong> provisionof tangible support <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of transport or economic assistance.116

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