Lived Experience of Individuals Covered by Harm Reduction Centers in Isfahan: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
Background: Addiction is among the most pressing matters across the globe. Harm reduction (HR) is among the most basic public health approaches aimed at altering high‑risk behaviors in the addict population. The authors of the present work sought to investigate the health issues of addicted people through a qualitative study of the “lived experience of individuals covered by harm reduction centers in Isfahan.” Materials and Methods: The researcher in this qualitative research conducted in‑depth 30–45‑min semistructured interviews with 35 individuals utilizing the services of six HR centers in Isfahan and some of their family members. The data collected from interviews were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method, employing Granheim and Lundman’s conventional inductive approach. Results: Participants had a mean (SD) age of 38 ± 3.5, among whom 77.14% were unemployed, 48.57% were illiterate, and 80% used drugs more than once daily. Codes were classified into the three main categories of reasons behind addiction, reasons behind quitting, and various life challenges of respondents, encompassing 14 subcategories. Conclusions: Findings from the interviews and identified challenges suggested the imperativeness of further attention to the studied population regarding health, well‑being, and socio‑economic issues.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Farokhi M, Shahbazi A. Qualitative Study on the Phenomenology of Marijuana Addiction Among Students in Tehran, Journal of Social Problems of Iran, 2018;9:pp. 237-58. doi: 10.22059/ijsp.2018.68627.
UNODC. World Drug Report 2019. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/islamicrepublicofiran/en/world-drug-report-2019_-35-million-people-worldwide-suffer-from-drug-use-disorderswhileonly-1-in-7-people-receive-treatment.html. [Last accessed on 2025 Nov 07].
Asemani Kenari M, Changi Ashtiyani J, Jalali A. The experience of the addicted families from the stigma of disease: A qualitative study. Razi Journal of Medical Scinces 2019;26:127-136.
Lookatch SJ, Wimberly AS, McKay JR. Effects of social support and 12-step involvement on recovery among people in continuing care for cocaine dependence. Subst Use Misuse 2019;54:2144-55.
Supriyanto A, Hendiani N, Hartini S, Sabri F. Addiction counselor profession: Perception of family support for recovering from drug abuse addiction. Counsellia: Journal Bimbingan dan Konseling 2021;11:17.
Garrusi S, Amirkafi A, Garrusi B. Experiences of drug dependent fathers in relation with their children: A qualitative study. Addict Health 2011;3:29-38.
Glavak R, Kuterovac-Jagodic G, Sakoman S. Perceived parental acceptance-rejection, family-related factors, and socio-economic status of families of adolescent heroin addicts. Croat Med J 2003;44:199-206.
Ghorbany T, Mohamad Khany S, Saramy G. The comparison of effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy based on coping skills and methadone maintenance treatment in improvement of emotional regulation strategies and relapse prevention. Scientific Quarterly of Research on Addiction 2011;5:59-74.
Peyravi H, Alavi S, Ghanizadeh M. The Effect of Compliance with Group Therapy on Quality of Life, Global Function and Care after Treatment in Opium Addicted under MMT (Methadone Maintanence Therapy). Iran Journal of Nursing 2018;30:45-57.
Akochekian Sh, Arabzadeh, Gholamreza, Mehrdad Nasiri, Hamid. The effect of staying in community centers on the mental state of drug addicts. Hormozgan Medical Journal 2005;9:213-7.
Yarmohammadi-Vasel M, Bayat A, Tavakkoli M, Farhoudian A, Farhadi MH, Sharifi F. Effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment on the mental health of harm reduction services’ recipients in drop-in centers. Arch Rehabil 2014;14:49-58.
Issazadegan A, Mikayili Manee F, Ghaderpur S, Sheikhi S, Kargar B. The effectiveness of training cognitive emotion regulation srategies and methadone treatement on improving the quality of life of men with substance use. Stud Med Sci 2014;25:425-34.
Irani Rd, Hosseinpour S. Familiarity with harm reduction programs in transit centers. Behvarz Quarterly journal 2020;31:28-31.
Majlessi F, Mohammad K, Namdari Tabar H, Safarpor A, Laghaei Z, Cheshmberah A. Reasons for not using the harmreduction package by injection additcs under coverage of Kermanshah Province DIC. J School Public Health Institute Public Health Res 2008;6:11-22.
Bastani P, Marshall BDL, Rahimi-Movaghar A, Noroozi A. The risk environments of people who use drugs accessing two harm reduction centers in Tehran, Iran: A qualitative study. Int J Drug Policy 2019;63:90-6.
Fahimfar N, Sedaghat A, Hatami H, Kamali K, Gooya M. Counseling and harm reduction centers for vulnerable women to HIV/AIDS in Iran. Iran J Public Health 2013;42(Suppl 1):98-104.
Rahmani A, Janatolmakan M, Rezaei E, Tabarrai M. The managers’ perspectives on service providing in women’s harm reduction centers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Mixed method study. Harm Reduct J 2024;21:133.
Speziale HS, Streubert HJ, Carpenter DR. Qualitative Research in Nursing: Advancing the Humanistic Imperative. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2011.
Polit D, Beck C. Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2020.
Creswell JW, Clark VLP. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Sage Publications; 2017.
Kuehn BM. Role of environment in addiction probed. JAMA 2005;294:2953-5.
Niv N. The sociologic basis of drug and alcohol addiction. Drug Courts: A New Approach to Treatment and Rehabilitation. Springer; 2007. p. 51-72.
Bibi M, Saleem E, Zahid S. An Overview of post war social problems in syria. Pakistan Journal of International Affairs. 2021;2. DOI:https://doi.org/10.52337/pjia.v2i2.63.
Kreek MJ. Extreme marginalization: Addiction and other mental health disorders, stigma, and imprisonment. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2011;1231:65-72.
Devgan S, Harjot B, Amrit PS. A study to assess various factors that encouraged substance indulgence amongst substance abusers in urban slums of Amritsar city. International Journal of Advanced Community Medicine. 2019;2: 07-11. DOI:https://doi.org/10.33545/comed.2019.v2.i3a.75.
Prasertsuk S, Wattananamkul V. Drug use in social and cultural dimension of urban community. Isan J Pharmaceutical Sci 2011;7:52-61.
Jedrzejczak M. Drug addiction among service soldiers-- causes of phenomenon development. Przegl Epidemiol 2002;56:169-77.
Shamsalinia A, Ghaffari F, Khayeri F, Masoudi R. (2017). Helplessness and the Need to Withdraw From Drugs: The Beginning of the Path to Recovery. Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment journal 2018;17:76-85.
Collins SE, Clifasefi SL, Nelson LA, Stanton J, Goldstein SC, Taylor EM, et al. Randomized controlled trial of harm reduction treatment for alcohol (HaRT-A) for people experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder. Int J Drug Policy 2019;67:24-33.
Mardei MD, Olyaee S. The ways to earn money in high risk addicts in drug court treatment-DCT center in Zahedan TaL-e-Siah. Int J High Risk Behav Addict 2013;2:44-5.
Milaney K, Passi J, Zaretsky L, Liu T, O’Gorman CM, Hill L, et al. Drug use, homelessness and health: Responding to the opioid overdose crisis with housing and harm reduction services. Harm Reduction Journal 2021;18:1-10.
Pauly BB, Reist D, Belle-Isle L, Schactman C. Housing and harm reduction: What is the role of harm reduction in addressing homelessness? Int J Drug Policy 2013;24:284-90.
Amiri M, Khosravi A, Chaman R. Drug Abuse Pattern and High Risk Behaviors among Addicts in Shahroud County of Semnan Province, Northeast Iran in 2009. Journal of research in health sciences. 2010;10:104-9.
O’Leary C, Ralphs R, Stevenson J, Smith A, Harrison J, Kiss Z, et al. The effectiveness of abstinence‐based and harm reductionbased interventions in reducing problematic substance use in adults who are experiencing homelessness in high income countries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis: A systematic review. Campbell Syst Rev 2024;20:e1396.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.