Gender differences in patterns of drug use and sexual risky behaviour among crack cocaine users in Central Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare sociodemographic characteristics, patterns of drug use, and risky sexual behaviour among female and male users of crack cocaine. METHODS: Between 2012 and 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 919 crack cocaine users (783 men and 136 women) in Central Brazil using face-to-face interviews. Blood samples were collected to test for syphilis. The Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) was used to explore the differences between genders. We implemented two models: the first model included previous incarceration and variables related to patterns of drug use, and the second model included variables related to sexual risky behaviours and syphilis exposure. RESULTS: Women consumed more crack cocaine than men on a regular basis; however, poly-drug use was more common among men. More women than men reported exchanging sex for money and/or drugs and inconsistent condom use during sexual intercourse; women also reported more sexual partners. In addition, the frequency of sexual violence was higher for women than men. A higher proportion of women than men were positive for syphilis (27.2% vs. 9.2%; p < 0.001). The CHAID decision tree analysis identified seven variables that differentiated the genders: previous incarceration, marijuana use, daily crack cocaine consumption, age at first illicit drug use, sexual violence, exchange of sex for money and/or drugs, and syphilis exposure. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate a difference in patterns of crack cocaine consumption and sexual risky behaviours between genders, thus indicating a need for gender-specific interventions in this population.

Criminal justice involvement of crack cocaine users in the city of Rio de Janeiro and Greater Metropolitan Area: Implications for public health and the public security agenda.

BACKGROUND: The international literature has expressed different and sometimes contrasting perspectives when addressing criminal involvement by crack cocaine users, highlighting psychopharmacological aspects, the cycles of craving and pressing economic need, and the interplay with overall deprivation and structural violence. The current study aims to identify variables associated with the arrest and imprisonment of regular crack cocaine users. METHODS: Interviewees were recruited from open drug scenes in the city of Rio de Janeiro and Greater Metropolitan Area from September 2011 to June 2013. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted to the data. RESULTS: Most of the recruited crack cocaine users were male (78.2% [95%CI: 76.3-79.4]), 18-30 years old (64.7% [95%CI: 62.5-66.2]), non-white (92.9% [95%CI: 91.2-93.4]), single (68.9% [95%CI: 66.8-70.3]), and with 0-7 years of schooling (70.6% [95%CI: 68.5-71.9]). Factors independently associated with arrest were history of inpatient addiction treatment (adjOR 4.31 [95%CI: 1.70-11.32]); male gender (adjOR 2.05 [95%CI: 1.40-3.04); polydrug use (adjOR 1.82 [95%CI: 1.32-2.51]); and 0 to 7 years of schooling (adjOR 1.64 [95%CI: 1.17-2.32]). As for the outcome variable lifetime history of incarceration, the independently associated factors were: male gender (adjOR 2.47 [95%CI: 1.74-3.55]) and longer use of crack cocaine and related substances (e.g., free base and local varieties/denominations of coca products) (adjOR 1.05 [95%CI: 1.01-1.10]). CONCLUSION: The study's findings support the use of comprehensive multisector interventions, integrating health promotion and mental health rehabilitation, access to quality education, and management of combined/concomitant use of different substances to reduce and/or prevent criminal involvement by individuals that use crack cocaine and other substances, as well as to prevent/manage relapse.

Perfil dos usuários de crack na mídia brasileira: análise de um jornal e duas revistas de edição nacional / Profile of crack users in the Brazilian media: analysis of a national newspaper and two magazines

Resumo Este artigo é uma pesquisa documental com abordagem qualitativa, resultado de uma tese de doutorado, que buscou analisar o perfil dos usuários de crack apresentado por reportagens de um jornal e duas revistas de edição nacional, nos últimos cinco anos. O material encontrado foi submetido à análise textual discursiva. Para acessar o objeto de estudo, nossa base teórica contou com os autores Michel Foucault, Erwin Goffman, Howard Becker e John Thompson, buscando desnaturalizar as maneiras como os discursos sobre os usuários de crack são colocados pela mídia. Os resultados evidenciaram que o discurso veiculado pelos meios de comunicação estudados constrói no senso comum um perfil negativo sobre o usuário de crack, permeado por preconceito e estigma. As reportagens são transmitidas de forma sensacionalista e higienista, dando ênfase ao enfrentamento aos usuários e não somente à droga em si. Conclui que o discurso apresentado é capaz de materializar as representações da classe dominante sobre os usuários de crack e de refletir na forma em que a sociedade convive com eles. Entende-se como classe dominante aquela representada pelo modelo biomédico de cuidado em saúde mental.

Abstract This article is a documentary research with qualitative approach, resulting from a doctoral thesis, which sought to analyze the profile of users of crack presented by newspaper reports and two national edition magazines in the last five years. The material found was submitted to discursive textual analysis. In order to access the study object, our theoretical base was based on Michel Foucault, Erwin Goffman, Howard Becker and John Thompson, seeking to denature the ways in which discourses about crack users are placed by the media. The results showed that the discourse conveyed by the media studied builds a negative profile on the crack user, permeated by prejudice and stigma. The reports are sensationalist and hygienist, emphasizing the confrontation with the users and not only the drug itself. It concludes that the presented discourse is capable of materializing the representations of the ruling class over crack users and of reflecting on the way in which society lives with them. One considers dominant class the one represented by the biomedical model of mental health care.

Sexual risk behaviors and predictors of inconsistent condom use among crack cocaine users in the French overseas territories in the Americas.

The French overseas territories in the Americas are the French territories most affected by HIV. Crack cocaine users are particularly impacted. The objective of this study was to describe sexual risk behaviors and inconsistent condom use among crack cocaine users. A total of 640 crack cocaine users were interviewed. The sampling method was non-probabilistic. An anonymous standardized questionnaire of 110 questions was used. Over a third of persons did not use condoms systematically with casual sex partners (36.2%) or commercial sex partners (32.3%), and 64% did not use condoms systematically with regular sex partners. In a context of multiple sexual partnerships, frequent forced sex, and insufficient HIV testing, the lack of systematic condom use may favor the spread of HIV. Different predictive factors of inconsistent condom use were identified, depending on the type of partner, with a log binomial regression. However, among the predictor variables identified, two predictive factors frequently occur among the different type of sex partners: high perceived risk of HIV and self-perceived capacity to persuade a sex partner to use condom. These results pointed towards interventions improving access to rights and raising perceived self-efficacy.

Violados indignos: usuários de crack no Rio de Janeiro e em Nova Iorque / Violated and undignified: crack cocaine users in Rio de Janeiro and New York

Este estudo analisa formas de manifestação da violência praticada contra usuários de crack em cenas de uso, nas cidades do Rio de Janeiro e de Nova Iorque. O método qualitativo constituiu a proposta metodológica em ambas as cidades, com técnicas de observação participante, relatos de histórias de vida e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Concluiu-se que, nos ambientes em que essa população se encontrava, reproduziam-se formas particulares de sofrimento, provocadas pelas violências física e moral, contra e entre os usuários, bem como pela discriminação social a que eram submetidos, perpetuando formas de banalização da violência e do sofrimento. Tornou-se evidente que o uso de drogas em cenas de uso de crack nas duas cidades eleva a exposição de seus usuários a problemas de saúde, violência, estigma, isolamento social e violação dos direitos.

This research analyzes the violence practiced to crack cocaine users at the spots of use at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and New York cities. Thequalitative method was based on participant observation technique, life history and semi-structured interviews in both cities. It was concluded that in the environment in which this population is based, particular forms of suffring are reproduced, caused by physical and moral violence against and between users, as well as by the social discrimination they are subjected to, perpetuating forms of trivialization of violence and suffring. It was clear that drug use in crack use scenes in both cities increases the exposure of the users to health problems, violence, stigma, social isolation and violation of rights.

Assessing risk behaviors and prevalence of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections among female crack cocaine users in salvador - Bahia, Brazil

Crack cocaine use is associated with risky sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. We investigated sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics and infection rates in female crack cocaine users from impoverished communities of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. A sample of 125 female crack cocaine users was recruited. Overall, the interviewees had low educational level and high rate of unemployment (close to 90 percent). One-third (37 percent) reported having traded sex for money or drugs, and 58 percent reported that they had not used condoms during intercourse in the last 30 days. The prevalence of infections was low: HIV-1.6 percent; HCV-2.4 percent; HBV- 0.8 percent; HTLV I/II-4.0 percent; and syphilis-4.0 percent. The combination of dire poverty and high prevalence of risk behaviors turn such populations a preferential target of initiatives aiming to reduce drug-related harm and promote social development. Low infection rates should not be viewed with complacency, but as a window of opportunity to implement prevention initiatives and reduce social marginalization.