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Di Ciaccio M, Boulahdour N, Tadjeddine A, Brouk N, Ouchallal R, Hami N, Bourhaba O, Adami E, Lorente N, Delabre RM, Karkouri M, Rojas Castro D. Psychosocial experience of the Covid-19 crisis among people who use or inject drugs in Algeria: A community-based qualitative study. J Health Psychol 2024:13591053241259251. [PMID: 39045700 DOI: 10.1177/13591053241259251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 crisis had a global impact and many marginalised groups, such as people who use or inject drugs, are more vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its consequences due to their pre-existing health inequalities. Moreover, people who use/inject drugs are also criminalised in some countries such as Algeria. This analysis aimed to explore the psychosocial experience of the COVID-19 crisis among people who use/inject drugs in Algeria. Twenty-nine qualitative interviews were conducted in 2021 with a community-based approach. Results of the thematic content analysis showed the intersectional effects of the COVID-19 crisis among people who use or inject drugs through the experience of a double crisis: one related to COVID-19 and the second to their specific difficulties related to drug use. Addressing social inequalities in health of people who use or inject drugs, through better recognition of their rights and needs, is crucial to improving their health.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Nafaa Brouk
- Association de Protection Contre le Sida (APCS), Oran, Algeria
- Unité de dépistage du cancer du sein, EPSP, Alger, Algeria
| | - Rachida Ouchallal
- Association de Protection Contre le Sida (APCS), Oran, Algeria
- EHS Frantz-Fanon, Blida, Algeria
| | - Noria Hami
- Association de Protection Contre le Sida (APCS), Oran, Algeria
- Etablissement Hospitalier Pédiatrique, Oran, Algeria
| | - Othmane Bourhaba
- Association de Lutte Contre le Sida (ALCS), Casablanca, Morocco
- Community-based research laboratory, Coalition PLUS, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Elisa Adami
- Community-based research laboratory, Pantin, France
| | - Nicolas Lorente
- Community-based research laboratory, Pantin, France
- Centre d'Estudis Epidemiològics sobre les Infeccions de Transmissió Sexual i Sida de Catalunya (CEEISCAT), Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, Badalona, España
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, España
| | | | - Mehdi Karkouri
- Association de Lutte Contre le Sida (ALCS), Casablanca, Morocco
- Community-based research laboratory, Coalition PLUS, Dakar, Senegal
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Casablanca, Morocco
| | - Daniela Rojas Castro
- Community-based research laboratory, Pantin, France
- Aix Marseille Univ, Inserm, IRD, SESSTIM, Sciences Economiques & Sociales de la Santé & Traitement de l'Information Médicale, ISSPAM, Marseille, France
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Amirkafi A, Mohammadi F, Tehrani-Banihashemi A, Moradi-Lakeh M, Murray CJL, Naghavi M, Mokdad AH. Drug-use disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a glance at GBD 2019 findings. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2024; 59:1113-1127. [PMID: 37999752 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-023-02587-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study is to investigate drug use disorders which are a major cause of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). METHODS This article is a part of the global burden of diseases (GBD), injuries, and risk factors 2019 study. The GBD modeling approach was used to estimate population-level prevalence of drug use disorders. We combined these estimates with disability weights to calculate years of life lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 1990-2019. RESULTS It is estimated that in 2019 in EMR around 3.4 million people have drug use disorder which has increased by 137% compared to 1990. Also, in 2019, DALY number for drug use disorders was 1217.9 (95% UI: 940.4, 1528.9) thousand years and 7645 (95% UI: 6793.7, 8567.9) deaths occurred. The DALY rate increased 39.6% in the region since1990, whereas the global rate increased by 24.4%. United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Iran were most affected by drug use disorders with the highest rates of age-standardized DALY in EMR in 2019. The most prevalent drug use disorder in the region is opioid use which is accountable for 80% of all drug use disorders DALYs. CONCLUSION Despite many interventions, drug use disorders are still responsible for high rates of DALY in the region which has increased since 1990 in both males and females; more comprehensive policies, better control measures and proper education could reduce the adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Amirkafi
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Faezeh Mohammadi
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Occupational Medicine Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Arash Tehrani-Banihashemi
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Community and Family Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maziar Moradi-Lakeh
- Preventive Medicine and Public Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Christopher J L Murray
- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Mohsen Naghavi
- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ali H Mokdad
- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Qushua N, Gillespie A, Ramazan D, Joergensen S, Erskine D, Poulton C, Stark L, Seff I. Danger Zone or Newfound Freedoms: Exploring Women and Girls' Experiences in the Virtual Space during COVID-19 in Iraq. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:3400. [PMID: 36834092 PMCID: PMC9965249 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20043400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls across the globe faced increased reliance on the digital space to access education, social support, and health and gender-based violence (GBV) services. While research from the last three years has explored how women and girls navigated and responded to their new virtual reality, minimal evidence has been generated from low-resource settings where access to technology may be limited. Further, no studies to date have examined these dynamics in Iraq, where women and girls already face numerous threats to safety due to various forms of structural violence and patriarchal family structures. This qualitative study aimed to examine women and girls' experiences in the digital space during COVID-19 in Iraq, including the benefits and risks of engagement as well as how access to the digital space was controlled. Data for the present analysis come from the authors' larger multi-country study investigating women and girls' safety and access to GBV services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures employed to control the spread of the virus. In Iraq, semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted virtually with fifteen GBV service providers. Following the translation and transcription of interviews, the thematic analysis highlighted several benefits and challenges women and girls experienced as they tried to access and utilize technology for schooling, support services, and obtaining and spreading information. While many women and girls increasingly and successfully relied on social media to spread awareness of GBV cases, key informants noted that women and girls also faced increased risks of experiencing electronic blackmail. In addition to a substantial digital divide in this context-which manifested as differential access to technology by gender, rural/urban status, and socioeconomic status-intrahousehold control of girls' access to and use of technology left many adolescent girls unable to continue schooling and contributed to their further marginalization and consequent decline in well-being. Implications for women's safety and mitigation strategies are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najat Qushua
- Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Alli Gillespie
- Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Lindsay Stark
- Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Ilana Seff
- Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
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Aaraj E, Haddad P, Khalife S, Fawaz M, Van Hout MC. Understanding and Responding to Substance Use and Abuse in the Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon Prior to and During COVID-19 Times. Int J Ment Health Addict 2021; 21:1-17. [PMID: 34867120 PMCID: PMC8628828 DOI: 10.1007/s11469-021-00714-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to its geographical proximity to the Syrian conflict and the occupied territories, Lebanon has experienced an influx of refugees in recent times. Palestinian refugees are an identified key vulnerable population, with displaced communities increasingly experiencing camp insecurity, vulnerability to drug use and related health harms. A qualitative study consisting of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) was undertaken as part of a regional exercise investigating Palestinian community experiences of substance and drug use in refugee camps. Thematic analysis triangulated the perspectives of 11 professional stakeholders representing United Nations, human rights and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and eight Palestinian community members. Emerging themes centered on the interplay between socio-economic instability, lack of law enforcement and camp governance contributing to concerning levels of familial, drug and camp violence, trafficking and availability of drugs. Transactional sex and the exploitation of women and children in drug dealing, diversification toward drug manufacture and dealing of drugs with the outside community were described. There is a lack of harm reduction and rehabilitation supports for those in need. This study highlights the complexities in tackling drug dealing and related criminal activity within refugee camps and humanitarian settings, and the vulnerabilities of those living within to harmful drug use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elie Aaraj
- Middle East and North African Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Patricia Haddad
- Middle East and North African Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sara Khalife
- Middle East and North African Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Mirna Fawaz
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
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