Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review

Background: Several reports have described a growing prevalence of illicit drug use in Afghanistan, with recognition of a recent shift from traditional modes of consumption involving inhalation and oral ingestion to injecting drug use. Objective: Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature...

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Main Author: Nafeh F.
Other Authors: Mahidol University
Format: Review
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/85257
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spelling th-mahidol.852572023-06-19T00:38:18Z Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review Nafeh F. Mahidol University Medicine Background: Several reports have described a growing prevalence of illicit drug use in Afghanistan, with recognition of a recent shift from traditional modes of consumption involving inhalation and oral ingestion to injecting drug use. Objective: Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature to map the injecting drug use situation in Afghanistan. The review intends to describe risk factors and impacts of injecting drug use, drug use characteristics and risk behaviours among people who inject drugs (PWID), and access to harm reduction and treatment. Methods: We searched Embase, Global Health, Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and grey literature to identify English language publications up to March 26th, 2022. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they explicitly targeted PWID or injecting drug use in Afghanistan and provided information relevant to the review questions. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for inclusion and extracted information based on the review objectives. Results: A total of 25 articles were identified representing 15 studies (11 quantitative, 2 qualitative, 2 mixed methods). All but one studies were cross-sectional. In majority of the studies, over 95% of the participants were male and most were conducted over a decade ago, in urban settings, mainly Kabul. Only one study examined risk factors of injecting drug use. Eleven studies described drug use characteristics and 9 reported risk behaviours among PWID. Health and social burden of injecting drug use were reported by 8 and 5 studies, respectively. Nine studies described access to harm reduction and treatment. Afghan PWID had high levels of injecting and sexual risk behaviours compared to global estimates. They reported high prevalence of incarceration and displacement. Access to harm reduction and treatment was very limited. This scoping review revealed important knowledge gaps including a gender gap in research with serious implications for drug policy and substance use care. Conclusions: Development of a national public health-oriented drug policy and substance use care programme is warranted along with efforts to develop health research capacity to address the need for epidemiological data. The current humanitarian crisis necessitates continued access to evidence-based harm reduction and treatment in Afghanistan. 2023-06-18T17:38:18Z 2023-06-18T17:38:18Z 2022-12-01 Review Substance Abuse: Treatment, Prevention, and Policy Vol.17 No.1 (2022) 10.1186/s13011-022-00491-1 1747597X 36123586 2-s2.0-85138198787 https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/85257 SCOPUS
institution Mahidol University
building Mahidol University Library
continent Asia
country Thailand
Thailand
content_provider Mahidol University Library
collection Mahidol University Institutional Repository
topic Medicine
spellingShingle Medicine
Nafeh F.
Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review
description Background: Several reports have described a growing prevalence of illicit drug use in Afghanistan, with recognition of a recent shift from traditional modes of consumption involving inhalation and oral ingestion to injecting drug use. Objective: Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature to map the injecting drug use situation in Afghanistan. The review intends to describe risk factors and impacts of injecting drug use, drug use characteristics and risk behaviours among people who inject drugs (PWID), and access to harm reduction and treatment. Methods: We searched Embase, Global Health, Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and grey literature to identify English language publications up to March 26th, 2022. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they explicitly targeted PWID or injecting drug use in Afghanistan and provided information relevant to the review questions. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for inclusion and extracted information based on the review objectives. Results: A total of 25 articles were identified representing 15 studies (11 quantitative, 2 qualitative, 2 mixed methods). All but one studies were cross-sectional. In majority of the studies, over 95% of the participants were male and most were conducted over a decade ago, in urban settings, mainly Kabul. Only one study examined risk factors of injecting drug use. Eleven studies described drug use characteristics and 9 reported risk behaviours among PWID. Health and social burden of injecting drug use were reported by 8 and 5 studies, respectively. Nine studies described access to harm reduction and treatment. Afghan PWID had high levels of injecting and sexual risk behaviours compared to global estimates. They reported high prevalence of incarceration and displacement. Access to harm reduction and treatment was very limited. This scoping review revealed important knowledge gaps including a gender gap in research with serious implications for drug policy and substance use care. Conclusions: Development of a national public health-oriented drug policy and substance use care programme is warranted along with efforts to develop health research capacity to address the need for epidemiological data. The current humanitarian crisis necessitates continued access to evidence-based harm reduction and treatment in Afghanistan.
author2 Mahidol University
author_facet Mahidol University
Nafeh F.
format Review
author Nafeh F.
author_sort Nafeh F.
title Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review
title_short Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review
title_full Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review
title_fullStr Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review
title_full_unstemmed Understanding injecting drug use in Afghanistan: A scoping review
title_sort understanding injecting drug use in afghanistan: a scoping review
publishDate 2023
url https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/85257
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