Uncertainty and flexibility in opioid substitution treatment in Belguim (Wallonia): An action research report
This action research was conducted from November 2008 to October 2010 in Wallonia, at the request of the Fedito Wallonne and with regional subsidies. It focuses on substitution treatments used for more than 20 years in Belgium, but which still raise questions in regard to their practical uses. The methodology was innovative. The group analysis method considered various professionals and past substitution treatment users on the same level. Together, these mixed groups conducted their analyses and proposed practical perspectives. Uncertainty seemed to be the key word for substitution treatment, in which each approach was confronted by the inexorable singularity of the treatments. Standardized rules no longer seem to prevail. The main task now is to improve the support provided to professionals for a practical substitution which is different for each patient. For this purpose, the group analysis method appeared to be a performing tool in taking into account the difficulty, nuances, agreement and disagreement concerning substitution treatment for opioids.