Substance Abuse: Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Volume 7, 2012
The social production of substance abuse and HIV/HCV risk: An exploratory study of opioid-using immigrants from the former Soviet Union living in New York City (Article) (Open Access)
Guarino H.* ,
Moore S.K. ,
Marsch L.A. ,
Florio S.
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a
Center for Technology and Health, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., 71 W. 23rd St., 8th Fl., New York, NY, 10010, United States
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b
Center for Technology and Health, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., 71 W. 23rd St., 8th Fl., New York, NY, 10010, United States
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c
Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth College, Rivermill Commercial Center, 85 Mechanic St., Ste. B4-1, Lebanon, NH 03766, United States
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d
Department of Behavioral Health, Chemical Dependency Services, Coney Island Hospital, 2201 Neptune Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11224, United States
Abstract
Background: Several former Soviet countries have witnessed the rapid emergence of major epidemics of injection drug use (IDU) and associated HIV/HCV, suggesting that immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) may be at heightened risk for similar problems. This exploratory study examines substance use patterns among the understudied population of opioid-using FSU immigrants in the U.S., as well as social contextual factors that may increase these immigrants' susceptibility to opioid abuse and HIV/HCV infection.Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 FSU immigrants living in New York City who initiated opioid use in adolescence or young adulthood, and with 6 drug treatment providers working with this population. Informed by a grounded theory approach, interview transcripts were inductively coded and analyzed to identify key themes.Results: The "trauma" of the immigration/acculturation experience was emphasized by participants as playing a critical role in motivating opioid use. Interview data suggest that substance use patterns formed in the high-risk environment of the FSU may persist as behavioral norms within New York City FSU immigrant communities - including a predilection for heroin use among youth, a high prevalence of injection, and a tolerance for syringe sharing within substance-using peer networks. Multiple levels of social context may reproduce FSU immigrants' vulnerability to substance abuse and disease such as: peer-based interactional contexts in which participants typically used opioids; community workplace settings in which some participants were introduced to and obtained opioids; and cultural norms, with roots in Soviet-era social policies, stigmatizing substance abuse which may contribute to immigrants' reluctance to seek disease prevention and drug treatment services.Conclusion: Several behavioral and contextual factors appear to increase FSU immigrants' risk for opioid abuse, IDU and infectious disease. Further research on opioid-using FSU immigrants is warranted and may help prevent increases in HIV/HCV prevalence from occurring within these communities. © 2012 Guarino et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84855579360&doi=10.1186%2f1747-597X-7-2&partnerID=40&md5=28e8d7c872c298afe30710820094d364
DOI: 10.1186/1747-597X-7-2
ISSN: 1747597X
Cited by: 15
Original Language: English