The drug addiction is one of the biggest problems of the public health in the entire nation but also in the Istrian County. The specific preventive projects are not carried out systematically on the national level, but the organization of the treatment of the addictions has been left to the local community. The area of Poreč was one of the first to have an epidemic drug dependence in the Region, as the epidemiological indicators clearly testify. In the last period, consumers and drug addicts are growing in the parts and cities of North – Western Istria ( Novigrad, Brtonigla, Buje and Umag). The Center for Prevention and Treatment Outside the Hospital is a program made for the prevention of the addiction disease and the treatment of the drug addicts outside the hospital.

The program of the Center is realized in an organized manner through the “Healthy City” Foundation and in the operative manner in a collaboration with the Medical Center of Poreč (tertiary level-treatment, indication of substitution therapy, laboratory tests…) and the “Healthy City” center of counseling (secondary prevention).

  • In the process of treatment of drug addicts is used the National Strategy approach – the medical treatment outside the hospital with the drug therapy combined with the psycho-therapeutic treatment. The effectivity of the work is evaluated individually (mainly with the health indicators, with the evaluation of the risk reduction in the insured protection, with the epidemiological observation at the city level and more widely).

The Center is the place where the drug addicts, light drug experimenters and members of their families come and it is open every day for 8 hours. The daily average is 6 to 7 users. The activities of the Center are realized continuously and without any interruption through the all year. More than 80 % of users remains in therapeutic contact with the specialist of the Center. “Staying in the program (retention rate)” is considered the best indicator of program acceptance by the users.

Center epidemiological information of the 2007

Mortality of drug addicts

In the 2007 no one died from the overdose in the city of Poreč and in the area of Poreč, but one person died because a disease.

HIV, AIDS, hepatitis

There is no positive HIV cases in the city and in the area of Poreč, while the percentage of patients with hepatitis C and B in the new evidence is declining. Since at the beginning of the 2007 has been set free the hepatitis C treatment for the addicts who’re in the abstinence or are stable in therapies, a big number of our clients decided to treat themselves.

The new specific knowledge contributes to the sensitization and fortification of the parents in the consideration of the effect that the circumstances changes will have on the family, and the mediation of different skills contributes to the development of new habits and selective behavior manners that will be more effective in educational situations.

Conclusion

The Center of prevention and treatment outside the hospital in Poreč continued to have successfully work in the 2007. The Center is one established and consolidated factor in health production not only in Poreč but also through this all part of Istria. The state of drug addiction in the City and in the area of Poreč is “stable”, that means that there is no significant changes in the confrontation with the previous year. The number of new cases is constant and lower in confrontation with the 1990s. There is no signs that other drugs in addition to heroin cause addiction. There are some reports and researches that indicate that cocaine consumption is increasing, but there are rare cases of addiction.

The program is mainly realized on the third level (treatment of drug addict), and it’s focused on:

  • individual level – the process of personal growth, development and change of individuals/ drug addicts and abstinence setting;
  • immediate environment – the fortification of the protective factors in the family and the increase of family sensitization of the problem and its getting through.