Harm reduction social work with people who use drugs: a qualitative interview study with social workers in harm reduction services in Sweden.

Background: Social work with people who use drugs (PWUD) has traditionally focused on abstinence and rehabilitation. In recent years, harm reduction has gained an increasingly more important role in social work with PWUD, and social workers are key professionals in many harm reduction services. This study investigates how social workers in harm reduction services for PWUD in Sweden understand the concept of harm reduction and how it relates to goals of rehabilitation, and how they assess and deal with dilemmas and challenges in everyday work.

Taking Care of Business in a Male - Dominated Drug Economy: Income Strategies, Risks, and Opportunities of Women Who Use Drugs.

Background: Street level drug economies are often described as hierarchical and gender-segregated arenas where men hold high positions and control the supply of drugs, and where women are confined to marginal and low-level positions. Few studies have explored income strategies, risks and opportunities of women who use drugs within drug economies in the Nordic countries.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze women's stories about "taking care of business"-making money and securing drugs-in a local drug economy.

Police officers' attitudes and practices toward harm reduction services in Sweden - a qualitative study.

Background: Since the 1980s, Swedish drug policy has combined a restrictive zero tolerance approach with the vision of a "drug-free society". However, in recent years, access to harm reduction services has increased through local initiatives and new national guidelines. The possible success of these services may be affected in part by police drug law enforcement.

Parents' experiences of abuse by their adult children with drug problems.

Aims: To examine parents' experiences of abuse directed at them by their adult children with drug problems.

Material And Method: The material consists of 32 qualitative interviews on child-to-parent abuse with 24 mothers and eight fathers. The interviewees had experienced verbal abuse (insults), emotional abuse (threats), financial abuse (damage to property and possessions) and physical abuse (physical violence).

Mental health problems among young people in substance abuse treatment in Sweden.

Background: Young people with substance use problems face a high risk of co-occurring mental health problems, something that may involve a more difficult life situation, social problems as well as worse treatment outcomes. The aim of this study is to analyse self-reported mental health problems among young people receiving outpatient treatment for substance use problems in Sweden. We explore what types of mental health problems are more or less predominant, and whether there are significant differences between boys and girls.

Non-prescribed use of methadone and buprenorphine prior to opioid substitution treatment: lifetime prevalence, motives, and drug sources among people with opioid dependence in five Swedish cities.

Background: Opioid substitution treatment (OST) with methadone or buprenorphine is the most effective means of treating opioid dependence. If these substances are used by people who are not undergoing OST, they can however carry serious risks. This article examines the lifetime prevalence, motives, and drug sources for such use, as well as geographical differences in these variables.

Long-term self-treatment with methadone or buprenorphine as a response to barriers to opioid substitution treatment: the case of Sweden.

Background: It is well known that illicit use of methadone and buprenorphine is common among people with an opioid dependence. Less notice has been taken of the fact that these substances are also used for extended periods of self-treatment, as a way of handling barriers to OST. In this study, motives for self-treatment are investigated, as well as attitudes and perceived barriers to OST among drug users with an opioid dependence in Sweden.

Diversion of methadone and buprenorphine from opioid substitution treatment: the importance of patients' attitudes and norms.

Aims: Methadone and buprenorphine diversion by patients in opioid substitution treatment (OST) is a poorly understood phenomenon. We study the norms and attitudes on diversion among OST patients, including the role these norms and attitudes play as diversion risk factors. We also study whether perceived quality of care, social bonds to treatment staff, and deterrence can be associated with diversion.

Diversion of methadone and buprenorphine from opioid substitution treatment: patients who regularly sell or share their medication.

Diversion-the practice of patients selling or sharing their medication-is a much debated problem of opioid substitution treatment. Regular diversion by patients was studied at 11 opioid substitution treatment programs in the south of Sweden. Using quantitative and qualitative data, it was investigated whether those patients differ from other patients, their motives for and means of diversion, and who the recipients are.

Diversion of methadone and buprenorphine by patients in opioid substitution treatment in Sweden: prevalence estimates and risk factors.

Background: Diversion--patients who sell or share their medication--is a hotly debated but relatively unresearched phenomenon. We have investigated the prevalence of self-reported diversion of methadone and buprenorphine at OST programs in Sweden. We have also examined if demographic, treatment, and social factors can be associated with an increased risk of diversion.

Diversion of methadone and buprenorphine from opioid substitution treatment: a staff perspective.

Opioid substitution treatment (OST) is still controversial, despite positive results. The issue of diversion to the illicit drug market is a cornerstone in the criticism typically voiced against the treatment. Little research is available concerning how professionals who work in OST view the issue of diversion.

Wasted, overdosed, or beyond saving--to act or not to act? Heroin users' views, assessments, and responses to witnessed overdoses in Malmö, Sweden.

Background: Overdose is a significant cause of death among heroin users. Frequently, other heroin users are present when an overdose occurs, which means the victim's life could be saved. There is a lack of studies that, based on heroin users own stories, examine their views, assessments, and responses to witnessed overdoses.

Illicit use of methadone and buprenorphine among adolescents and young adults in Sweden.

Background: Illicit use of methadone and buprenorphine has been described as a growing problem in Sweden in recent years, and has been associated with an increased drug-related mortality. Critics claim that the substances have become popular among adolescents and that they function as a gateway to heroin use. The aim of this study is to investigate, firstly, the extent to which illicit use of methadone and buprenorphine occurs among adolescents and young adults in Sweden, and secondly, at what stage in a user's drug career these substances tend to appear.