Journal article

Killing time with enjoyment: A qualitative study of initiation into injecting drug use in North-East India

M Kermode, V Longleng, BC Singh, K Bowen, A Rintoul

Substance Use and Misuse | Published : 2009

Abstract

Manipur and Nagaland are north-east Indian states characterized by a high prevalence of injecting drug use and HIV in a context of socio-economic underdevelopment and political instability. This qualitative study aims to increase understanding of the contextual factors associated with initiation into injecting drug use in these two states. Forty semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among injecting drug users (10 women, 30 men) aged 1828 years in mid-2006. The interview transcripts were thematically analyzed. All participants were initiated into injecting by another person, most commonly a friend and often in the context of well-established social networks. Most were poly-drug u..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) through the Research and Learning Fund. Michelle Kermode was the recipient of a Postdoctoral Public Health Fellowship awarded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The authors would like to thank Social Awareness Service Organisation (SASO), Manipur; Bethesda Youth Welfare Centre, Nagaland; Community Awareness Development (CAD) Foundation, Nagaland; Dr. B. Langkham (Emmanuel Hospital Association, New Delhi); Ms. Alexandra Devine (Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia); Professor Nick Crofts (Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne); and the Project ORCHID staff in Guwahati, Imphal, and Dimapur.