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Groin injecting in injectable opioid treatment service users in South London
journal contribution
posted on 2009-01-01, 00:00 authored by Peter MillerPeter Miller, L Forzisi, D Zador, N Lintzeris, N Metrebian, R Van Der Waal, S Mayet, J StrangFemoral (or groin) injecting is an emerging public health challenge to all drug-related services within the UK. Recent work in the area has proposed that groin injecting in the UK has moved from being a ‘risk boundary’ to an ‘acceptable behaviour’. This article uses data from 10 in-depth qualitative interviews with service users from a supervised injectable opiate treatment service in South London to report on pathways to, and reasons for, groin injecting. Our findings indicate that even though groin injecting constitutes a risk boundary for some injectors, the practice is no longer heavily stigmatised and is perceived by some to be an acceptable risk. Narratives also pointed to the importance of peers in the initiation of groin injecting. Interviewees described the groin as a site of ‘last resort’ in contrast to ‘convenience’ groin injectors described in some previous research. We conclude that it might be helpful to distinguish between convenience and last resort groin injectors and support the call for innovative interventions which aim to reduce modelling of groin injection and which promote social norms supportive of using peripheral injecting sites.
History
Journal
Addiction research and theoryVolume
17Issue
4Pagination
381 - 389Publisher
Informa HealthcareLocation
London, EnglandPublisher DOI
ISSN
1606-6359eISSN
1476-7392Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2009, Informa UK Ltd.Usage metrics
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