In the past two decades, a large body of studies has investigated unsafe injection behaviors and their risk factors in IDUs population. Unsafe injection practice, especially needle/syringe sharing is associated with low education7,11, economic pressure12, length of drug use history7,13, sex work history (female only)13, and having casual sexual partners7,11. All this previous research has contributed to our understanding of unsafe injection behaviors quantitatively. However, most of the prior quantitative studies presented findings in a structured manner (i.e., several variables on injection), which prevents the exploration of unique unsafe injection practices especially some unrecognized practices ignored by previous studies. In addition,
Accidental drug overdose is one of the many extremely detrimental risks associated with injection drug use. According to a study by Marshall (2003) that analyzed death rates of injection drug users before and after the opening of a safe injection facility in Vancouver demonstrated the facility`s effectiveness through a comparison of the rates of fatal overdose before and after in the area of the clinic to rates before and after in another part of the city that the facility was not accessible. This study revealed that the fatal overdose rate in the area of the facility decreased by 35% after the...
Needle exchange programs are a type of harm reduction initiative used in different parts of the world to combat HIV transmission. These programs provide injection drug users (IDUs) with clean needles and syringes (AVERT, 2015). These programs are run by pharmacies or other drug services, and can be either fixed or mobile sites (CDC, 2010). Besides aiming to reduce the transmission of HIV, these programs also provide advice on safe drug injection, how to minimize harm by drugs and overdose, how to safely handle injection equipment, and provide access to treatment if the person wishes. There are at least 90 countries that have implemented these programs, located in various areas such as the United States, Australia, Asia, Europe, Latin America,
Two main arguments for needle exchange programs include that the needle exchange would help prevent the spread of disease and that they are key to fighting HIV and in turn saving lives. Since, the needle exchange programs don’t really force people to get off the substance they are abusing, a lot of users will actually choose to do the treatment programs on their own because they don’t feel pressured into doing so. Not only do the needle exchange programs supply sterile needles they also supply counseling and therapy for those that not only want some help in the guidance of getting off their substance, but mental and life assistance to help them to reestablish their lives. By doing so the previously addicted can reestablish relat...
The study conducted by MacNeil & Pauly (2011) focused on the perspective of the people who use the needle exchange programs in Canada. To receive the data from the injecting drug users, the researchers first recruited most of their participants from four needle exchange sites. There were a total of 33 people who participated (23 men and 10 women) in this study. The average age of the participants was 40.3 years of age, for men, the average was 43, whereas for women it was 34 years old. The participants were either homeless or were on government assistance programs. Out of the 33 participants, six of them reported being HIV positive (18%) and 16 reported being diagnosed wi...
Straussner, S.L.A., (2001). Ethnocultural Factors in Substance Abuse Treatment. (254 & 261). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
There are an estimated 25,000 heroin users in Victoria (Hodder, p.10). This is a very large amount of people on drugs, in the last 10 years it has been shown to increase and therefore the drug issue is becoming a major problem to all the people in Victoria.
Currently needle and syringe exchange programs are not federally funded or supported in the United States, even though the support is growing. Generally speaking, the implementation of such programs is difficult based on the social rejection of the people the services would benefit, and the legal funding restrictions. Nevertheless, the National Institute of Health identified six characteristics of successful syringe exchange programs implementation (Downing et.al 2014). First off, the debate needs to be set in a way that is considerate of both the political and cultural norms; also, the effort needs to involve community building and involvement. Third, there needs to be sufficient leadership; and easily accessible resources; and use of research finding and supporting evidence of the programs; and lastly, the implementation process must ignore any fear of social or political hostility (Downing et.al 2014). While as a nation we have a long way to go, I think the potential for successfully implementing federally funded needle and/or syringe exchange programs, or other similar programs devoted to harm-reduction and risk-prevention, are just around the political and social corner of reforming the view on drugs.
Plata revealed, overcrowding in many correctional facilities raises serious health concerns, even more on account of overstretched health services than the potential for infectious disease outbreaks” (Dumont et al.). A majority of the incarcerated comes from low-income communities where the population is predominantly nonwhite. These inmates are more likely to be underserved for medical issues. Due to this, the mental and physical health of inmates is significantly worse than that of the general public. HIV rates are approximately five times higher in prisons than in the general population. Many of the inmates infected with HIV are at risk for hepatitis C due to injection of substances. These prisoners are nine to ten times more likely than non-incarcerated people to get hepatitis C virus (HCV). Many prisoners that are infected with both HIV and HCV are more likely to also have other diseases than people infected solely with HIV. Early syphilis was found to be about 1000 times more prevalent in incarcerated women than women in the general public. Women’s predominance in prostitution also increases their risk for infectious disease transmission. This is due to the fact that many prostitutes are involved in prostitution to support an addiction. Chronic diseases are also spread throughout correctional facilities and possibly at more advanced stages. This is likely to be caused from the aging of the inmates and the rise of
Though those who are infected represent less the one percent of the total population, the environmental conditions of the society by which India presides are conducive to the rapid spread of this problem. More importantly, of those that are infected, thirty nine percent are women which increases the probability of parent-to-child transmission of this STI(Sexually Transmitted Infection). While an entire forty percent of the HIV bearing population is constituted by women, only a fraction of a percentage point of those women who choose to get screened test positive for the infection indicating a major problem—those who have it, are unaware or choose not be screened*. Close to eighty five percent of the transfers are through sexual transmission, five percent through parent-to-child transmission and the remainder through injecting drug use. As observed, red-light districts in India have given obvious rises and have some of the highest incidence of AIDS (fifty percent in Mumbai and Pune), but the other regions of the country do not r...
Teen pregnancy and birth has decreased in numbers as a whole but the US remains to be one of the highest in teen birth, HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates among the industrialized nations...
the high percentage of infected persons among populations of drug users. This makes it a worldwide health challenge.
What has changed is the mode of transmission. In the early years of the HIV epidemic, blood transfusion was the major transmission mode among the senior population. Today, heterosexual contact and needle sharing among IV drug users older than 50 are the main causes of HIV infection in our seniors” (2015). Data indicates that there will always be a prevalence of HIV in this particular community because of the lack of knowledge of transmission of HIV. Many older adults do not think they are in one of the high risks group for contracting HIV. There are multiple indicators for HIV in the elderly community. Health determinants such as smoking, alcohol, iv drugs habits play a major role in the transmission of HIV in iv drug users. Health status is an indicator because elderly patients deal with other diseases and conditions and can overlay with symptoms of
The disease's association with behaviours (such as sex between men and injecting drug-use) that are already stigmatised in many societies
Office of the National Drug Control Policy. "National Survey on Drug Use and Health." May 2008. Print. 26 March 2014.
It’s true what everyone talks about safety – you are the key to your safety, when you do it safely you do it the right way and the best gift you can give to your family is to always stay safe. We have been taught by our parents and teachers to be cautious while doing a number of things. That’s very essential in our daily lives, because one needs to be extra cautious to prevent unavoidable accidents. However, mishaps do happen everywhere in the safest of places, no matter how careful we are in our actions. It is highly unpredictable, what’s going to happen the very next instant. There are numerous incidences we come across like simple trips, falls, cuts due to sharp objects, burns or sudden worsening of a person’s health condition, causing