Advancing readiness for change in substance use for people with substance use disorders using the Kawa model based intervention program: A quasi-experimental study

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) may cause severe social and health problems. Therefore, providing adequate treatments for people with SUDs to change their drug use behaviors is important. This study examined the effectiveness of Kawa Model based therapy among people with SUDs in Taiwan.

Methods: Participants were recruited from people with SUDs who violated the Controlled Drugs Act in Taiwan were mandated to abstinence services by law from January 2016 through October 2021 in Southern Taiwan. Each participant selected a 2-hour for 4 times or 8-hour for one day compulsory treatments and received either the Kawa model based treatment (n = 55; 9 women; mean ± SD age = 36.73 ± 10.42 years) or psychoeducation courses (n = 42; 8 women; mean ± SD age = 27.57 ± 5.78 years), respectively. Stages of change was assessed using the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment before and after treatments.

Results: There were no significant differences in the stages of change scores at baselines between the 2 groups (p = .06-0.20). After treatments, participants who received the Kawa Model based treatment had higher scores in specific stages of change than did those who received the psychoeducation course in the domains of 'contemplation' (p = .001), 'action' (p = .001), and 'readiness' (p = .002).

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated initial and preliminary findings that the Kawa Model based therapy may improve readiness for changing drug use behaviors in people with SUDs.