NCJ Number
175984
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1998 Pages: 267-276
Date Published
1998
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the nature and extent of contact with drug and health services among female injecting drug users (IDUs) in London, England.
Abstract
Women who use drugs are considered a "hard to reach" population. This is largely based on data from a variety of official sources that have suggested women are underrepresented as clients of drug services. Although current literature provides numerous explanations for this, there have been few empirical studies exploring the nature and extent of women's contact with such services. In the current study, 209 women were recruited from treatment services and community settings in London between February and June 1996. Of these, 82.3 percent were recruited from non-treatment settings in the community. All had injected an illicit drug in the 2 months prior to being interviewed. Data quality was ensured by the appropriate training of field workers and regular contact between field workers and the researchers. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire. Respondents were asked to detail the nature and extent of their contact with both specialist drug treatment services and generic health services in the 6 months preceding the interview. Women IDUs in London reported that they had regular contact with a range of generic and specialist health services, and that in general they found these services to be both helpful and accessible. The minority of women who had no service contact in the previous 6 months reported their lack of need as a reason for this. In spite of data limitations, this study provides useful indicators of where women IDUs seek help for their drug use and drug-related health problems. Further, data on reasons for contact with particular services provide some evidence of levels of morbidity among this group. 5 tables and 40 references