Factors influencing female engagement, retention and completion of substance abuse treatment: a systematic review.

Aim: This systematic review aimed to summarise the factors influencing women's engagement with, retention in and completion of substance abuse treatment since new national guidance was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2017 to assess potential barriers to service provision. Subjects and methods: Systematic reviews were conducted across two key databases using defined keywords to identify relevant journal articles. These were then graded by two independent reviewers before being selected for inclusion. The studies that were included focused on women over the age of 18 involved in community specialist substance misuse services for opiate, crack cocaine and/or alcohol addiction. Results: Twelve studies were identified, published between January 2017 until March 2020 (three cohort design, two cross-sectional and seven qualitative). Several barriers to female drug treatment were identified, including stigmatisation, disproportionate female roles in families, fear of children's services detaining their children and growing mistrust between clinicians and drug-users. Conclusions: The study found that services are struggling to cope with reduced government funds and increased demand resulting in shorter appointment times, quick turnover of staff and difficulty in accessing appointments at primary care centres and specialist services. Improving outcomes in engagement, retention and completion could be achieved by adding services such as integrated mental health treatments, parenting interventions and stress-reducing therapies and recruiting more female counsellors so women feel more comfortable discussing their previous traumas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]