Abstract
This study examined drug use, hepatitis C, and service availability and use among a high-risk sample of rural women serving time in jails. Data was collected from female offenders (N = 22) who participated in four focus groups in three rural jail facilities located in Appalachia. Findings indicated that drug misuse is prevalent in this impoverished area of the country, and that the primary route of administration of drug use is injection. Findings also indicate that injection drug use is also commonly associated with contracting hepatitis C (HCV), which is also perceived to be prevalent in the area. Despite knowledge associated with HCV risks, women in this sample were seemingly apathetic about the increasing spread of HCV in the area and unconcerned about the long-term consequences of the course of the infection. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 385-396 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Social Work in Public Health |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 7 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Awards R01DA033866, K02DA35116, and T32DA035200. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2015.
Keywords
- Drug use
- HCV
- women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
