Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Fighting Heroin Abuse With Heroin: How Legalizing Prescription Heroin Has Changed The Way New Generations Use Drugs, Claire Ridley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the 1980s, Switzerland was embroiled in two simultaneous crises: widespread heroin use and spreading HIV/AIDS. Zurich became the capital of heroin consumption, with groups gathering in public parks and sharing needles to inject heroin. In response to these crises, several Swiss cities started conducting randomized control trials where they offered prescription heroin to help people addicted to heroin consume the drug safely and eventually recover from their addiction. As these trials reported positive results of maintaining better health outcomes for those undergoing treatment, the Swiss people supported federally legalizing heroin-assisted treatment and expanding access to harm reduction services in …

Representation And Recommendations: Participation Of People Who Use Drugs In Un-Level Policy-Making, Lily Knudsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although participation in health policy-making is a popular topic in the literature and a stated priority of the United Nations, very little research has been published examining the full spectrum of participation by people who use drugs (PWUD) at the UN level. This study aims to describe and evaluate this participation through a combination of a literature review that looks at academic sources, UN publications, and publications by organizations of PWUD, and a series of interviews with representatives of organizations of PWUD who have participated in UN level policy-making.

Data collected demonstrates that there is no comprehensive system for the …

Evaluating The Pragmatic And Moralistic Approach To Drug Policy And Addiction In Opioid Epidemic Outcomes, Brielle Seidel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Drug use, policy and outcomes differ in all countries; however, trends exist in response to these circumstances and can typically be evaluated through a pragmatic and moralistic lens. The public health, and evidence-based pragmatic approach differs from the law enforcement-centered moralistic approach, specifically in outcomes of people suffering from substance use disorder. Particularly for opioid use disorder, countries that have taken the pragmatic approach in response to opioid epidemics have had dramatic results. Two of the countries discussed include Switzerland and Portugal, with additional information on the Netherlands. In contrast, current opioid epidemics exist in certain countries who maintain a …

The Cultural And Systemic Influence On Substance Use Disorder, Christina Seery

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The opioid epidemic is an extensive global problem, but it is not random that it is most severe in the United Sates. It is commonly believed that the individuals with substance use disorder and the health care system are at fault, however many people disregard the impact culture and systems have on substance use disorder. I tackled this gap by conducting formal qualitative interviews with experts in the field of addiction and dissecting academic work. After this research it is apparent that the American culture and institutions has made individuals vulnerable to become addicted to opioids while other similar European …

Adicción Como Un Hecho Político Económico: Un Análisis De Servicios De Atención De Abuso De Drogas Y Alcohol En Arica, Chile, Jack Steffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research question – What is the current landscape of drug abuse in Chile and how has the state attempted to address this problem?

Objectives – The objectives of the paper were to characterize drug use patterns in Chile since 1994, revise drug abuse services, and offer possible improvements for the system of drug abuse treatment.

Background – Chile, despite being one of the most well economically-developed countries in South America, has some of the worst mental health indicators, one of these being drug abuse. Since 1994, use of alcohol and marihuana has increased, while use of cocaine products has remained …

Social Support And Discrimination: The Experiences Of Recovering Heroin Addicts In Kunming, China, Phoebe Li

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Opioids have had a long, complex position in Chinese society, dating all the way back to the Ming dynasty. In 1949, 5% of the overall Chinese population and 25% of the population in Yunnan smoked opium regularly, which led to societal collapse and economic downturn. Since then, the Chinese government has used many different methods to attempt to control drug use and trafficking, including registering all users, executing traffickers, and using Compulsory Rehabilitation Centers. Starting in 2008, the government switched to a harm reduction approach and began to invest in methadone clinics, community support groups, and needle exchange programs. Because …

Pearl Lagoon's White Lobster: The Societal, Economic, Political And Autonomous Effects, Rafely Palacios

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is home to the greatest number of impoverished individuals in the country. However, the people of Pearl Lagoon - a municipality in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region - have found a way to escape their poor economic situations.

Due to the municipality’s close proximity to drug routes utilized by Colombian cartels and to the country itself, community members have turned to the drug trade in hopes of pursuing financial secureness. With the introduction of the “white lobster” or cocaine packets, the community as a whole has transformed its social, economic, and political spheres. In …

Sex Work And Compromised Health: Health Conditions And The Barriers To Accessing Treatment Services In Pelourinho, Salvador, Amelia Fox

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Sex workers remain one of the most marginalized populations in Brazilian society, both coming from and living within realities defined by poverty and poor health. Through partnership with Força Feminina – an organization located in Salvador, dedicated to aiding local sex workers– I explored the day-to-day health complications sex workers encounter and the impact these problems have on quality of life. I then questioned how discrimination and stigma impact a woman’s willingness to prioritize her health and seek out healthcare services. To pursue these questions, I utilized participant observation, interviews with 4 staff members – a pastoral educator, financial coordinator, …

Treatment Of Drug Addiction Within Brazil’S Penitentiary System A Qualitative Investigation, Samantha Jain

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Illicit drug use remains a significant public health issue within in Brazil, and is only magnified in the state penitentiary system, where there is excessive over-crowding and a lack of resources to address this issue. The purpose of this investigation is to understand the context of drug use within the prison system as well as how is drug abuse treated by the professionals that work in Penitenciaria Lemos Brito and Cadeia Publica. Treating drug addiction is an important aspect of the inmate’s well-being as well as it’s impact on his re-integration back into society after his punishment is served. Therefore, …

Dying For A Drink: How The Consumption Of Home Brews Affects Health Within The Kibera Slum Of Nairobi, Kenya, Teaka Jackson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Home-brewed alcohols are inexpensive, thus they are especially consumed by low-income individuals such as those residing in Kibera. This project investigates three alcohols brewed within this area: muratina (mugasha), busaa and chang’aa. With the help of Philip Ndemwa, a nutrition expert from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, I was able to gain insight regarding the process of these alcohols, as well as the sanitation conditions of the production sites of these home brews and how these factors affect the health of the consumer. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were utilized in order to fully understand the health repercussions from …

Processes, Practices And Politics In The Treatment Centers For Addictions And Problematic Consumptions: An Analysis Of The Perspectives And Practices Of The Professionals In A Treatment Center In The Autonomous City Of Buenos Aires, Chiara Lawrence

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contextual Information: Historically in Argentina, as well as globally, the politics regarding the use of “drugs” have been prohibitionist and treatment centers have implemented these politics with models of abstinence. More recently, the need for both the politics and the treatment to prioritize the rights and health of the drug uses has become more widely recognized in both social and political contexts, as much as among professionals in treatment centers. New laws have been passed proposing the implementation of harm reduction strategies in the treatment of addictions and problematic drug use. In the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires there are …

The Use Of The Term "Paco" By Street Youth In The City Of Buenos Aires And The Strategies Used By The Center For Integral Attention On Childhood And Adolescence To Help In Treating The Problematic Consumption Of Drugs, Sophie Kligler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Información contextual: En los últimos años, Argentina ha experimentado un aumento rápido en la prevalencia y uso del paco, la pasta base de la cocaína. Esta droga se ha convertido en una de las drogas más comunes en la calle debido a su precio bajo, su accesibilidad y sus cualidades adictivas. El paco es particularmente prevalente entre los chicos que viven en la situación de calle porque su acceso es muy fácil y barato y les ayuda escapar, por algunos momentos, de la dura realidad de sus vidas. La droga puede tener consecuencias graves para la salud de un consumidor, …

Injection, Ingestion, & Misconception: Drug Use & Rehabilitation In Indonesia, Elena Silvestrini

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When developing countries begin to work their way towards a more recognizable and first world standpoint, there are always certain social issues that must be worked out and addressed. While Indonesia is still considered a third world country, the nation is developing through its gradually increasing economy and booming tourism industry. As any other nation does in its initial stages of expansion, Indonesia has reached a major turning point in which the social issues that have plagued the country for decades must finally be attended to. Politicians, public officers, and local citizens are speaking out against injustices, inequalities, and concerning …

La Correlación Entre El Autoestima Y La Intención De Cambiar En Seis Ámbitos De La Vida De Un Fumador Adolescente., Aaron Picus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: According to a study in 2008 by the National Agency for the Control of Narcotics, 26.1% of Chilean adolescents between the ages of 12-18 had used tobacco at least once during the month of the study and 13% used tobacco daily. Even though smoking has negative health effects, many adolescents in Chile still smoke. Since the 1970s, low self-esteem has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of poor health behaviors. Recent investigations have shown that, when measured in the social, school, family, self-body image, sports and physical activity, and global realms of the life of an …

Vih Y Alcohol En Arica, Chile: Percepciones De Portadores Y Profesionales, Lena Sessions

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and HIV in Arica, Chile. The objectives of this investigation were to understand the demographics of HIV positive Ariqueños who consume alcohol, and understand their perceptions of alcohol consumption with respect to whether they believed they had a drinking problem, whether they believed that the consumption of alcohol facilitated their contracting HIV, and whether the consumption of alcohol affected their treatment. Although there is no literature that specifically addresses the topic of how HIV positive individuals who consume alcohol perceive their disease, former research suggests that a significant number (25-50%) of individuals …