Exploring perceptions of social workers regarding service users with co-occurrence of opioid use and mental health disorders

The study was aimed at exploring and describing the perceptions of social workers regarding service users with opioid use and mental health disorders at the Community-Oriented Substance Use Programme (COSUP). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews guided by an interview schedule, which was analysed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that social workers play a vital role in managing the co-occurrence of opioid use and mental health disorders. According to the study, lack of support, disparities in resource allocation, and lack of educational training are some of the challenges experienced by social workers that still need to be addressed.