PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF OPIOID DRUG ABUSE

Abstract

The increase in the prescription of opioid analgesics is related to increased rates of opioid abuse and the negative consequences of medication misuse. Several international health organisations recommend comprehensive and multidisciplinary patient assessment for the duration of the opioid treatment in order to identify and prevent medication abuse. Due to the lack of specific clinical guidelines in the Spanish National Health System, the aim of this paper is to present a proposal for psychological assessment based on the main psychological tools currently available for assessing opioid abuse. The assessment guidelines have been established based on the psychological variables that can predict and prolong the abuse, classifying all of the variables depending on the current stage of the therapeutic process for each patient. Although there are instruments with good psychometric properties, further research is necessary to adapt, translate and validate these instruments for use in the Spanish population. Future studies are also needed to investigate intervention and prevention strategies in depth in order to reduce the likelihood of abuse in patients treated with opioids.

Keywords

• Psychological assessment
• Prescription drug abuse
• Opioids
• Chronic pain
• Risk factors
• Clinical guidelines.