"If you're strung out and female, they will take advantage of you": A qualitative study exploring drug use and substance use service experiences among women in Boston and San Francisco.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Significant disparities in substance use severity and treatment persist among women who use drugs compared to men. Thus, we explored how identifying as a woman was related to drug use and treatment experiences.

Methods

The study recruited participants for a qualitative interview study in Boston and San Francisco from January-November 2020. Self-identified women, age ≥ 18 years, with nonprescribed opioid use in the past 14 days were eligible for inclusion. The study team developed deductive codes based on intersectionality theory and inductive codes generated from transcript review, and identified themes using grounded content analysis.

Results

The study enrolled thirty-six participants. The median age was 46; 58 % were White, 16 % were Black, 14 % were Hisp

SUBMITTER: Harris MTH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11040599 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature