This master thesis aims at analyzing users’ responses to the Pot association’s addiction treatments and programs in Ilirska Bistrica and Pivka. The association functions as a day centre offering a variety of preventive measures and anti-drug activities. The perception of the professional workers in drug demand reduction were taken into consideration as well.
In the theoretical framework of the thesis, the concepts that are central to the topic are defined. The concept of addiction, various types of drugs and their effects as well as common health risks are explored and presented. What follows is the presentation of social welfare programs. It focuses on strict high-threshold programs as well as on low-threshold programs. The Pot association is closely analyzed as the low-threshold program that the participants have experienced. The theoretical analysis highlights the importance of social work, social workers, and practitioners.
The analysis is based on users and practioners’ responses to the concept and effectiveness of the addressed addiction treatments, programs and day centres. It also offers their reflections on possible improvements as well as on the extension of activities in the areas of Ilirska Bistrica, Pivka, Sežana and Ljubljana. The users’ lifestyles, values and their outlook on life were taken into consideration as well to gain an accurate picture of their life situation.
The performed qualitative research is presented in the empirical part of the thesis. Interviews with six users of the analysed Pot’s addiction programs have been used for data collection. Three interviewees participate in association’s activities in Ilirska Bistrica, whereas the other three interviewees use the association’s services in Pivka. Interviews have been used as a form of collecting data from the professional workers and practitioners as well. There were 5 individuals included in the research. Their professional work is related to the field of illicit drugs. The empirical work included interviews with the head of the Pot association, interviews with the professional workers and with the head of the POMOČ association in Sežana, and interviews with a professional worker and the head of the Stigma association in Ljubljana. A researcher at Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje Koper (The National Institute of Public Health) contributed to the analysis as well. The interviews served as a way of obtaining the information needed to analyse and present the research topics. The result section is followed by the discussion section. The findings and conclusions as well as some proposals for improvements are included in the final section of the thesis. This way the analysis can serve as a basis of further addiction programs’ improvements.
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