Title: Consequences of diversion – a qualitative interview study regarding illicit buprenorphine use. In year 1999 buprenorphine was introduced in Sweden and is used in treatment for opioid dependence. An issue concerning substitution treatment programmes is the occurrence of diversion and the following illegal sails of buprenorphine on a black market. The aim of this study was to explore how people who have used illicitly obtained buprenorphine describes such abuse. The study was conducted using qualitative method, where a total of five individuals were interviewed about past experiences of having used illicitly acquired buprenorphine. The findings indicate that polydrug use and intake by injection or through the nose are common amongst illicit users of buprenorphine. Buprenorphine was described as a possible substance of abuse. Moreover, it is discussed whether availability and attitudes concerning buprenorphine as a cleaner and/or safer substance than other drugs can contribute to increased abuse of opiates through buprenorphine amongst drug users who have not previously been in contact with opiates. The authors argue that further research is needed to explore the extent of diversion from domestic substitution treatment programs, and to widen the understanding of how buprenorphine function as a drug of abuse.

Syftet var att utreda omvårdnadspersonalens attityd gentemot patienter med ett drogmissbruk och att fastställa demografiska faktorer som kan påverka denna attityd. En litteraturstudie gjordes, där relevant vetenskaplig litteratur insamlades, analyserades och bearbetades. Materialet som användes i denna process var elva vetenskapliga artiklar, som samtliga beskrev resultatet av en genomförd studie. Samtliga artiklar granskades för sin vetenskaplighet enligt kriterier för evidensbaserad omvårdnad. Det finns en allmänt negativ attityd bland omvårdnadspersonal gentemot patienter med drogmissbruk. De demografiska faktorerna: utbildning, yrkeskategori och erfarenhet, har en statistiskt säkerställd påverkan på attityden och de påverkar den i positiv eller i negativ riktning. / The purpose was to examine the attitudes of nursing staff towards drugabusing patients. A literature review was made where relevant literature was collected, analysed and arranged to get a result out of the data. The material which was used in this proces was eleven scientific articles. These articles were reviewed for their scientific level, according to criterions from evidence based nursing. There is a general negative attitude among nursing staff towards drugabusing patients. The demografic elements: education, working category and experience, has an influence on the attitude, in either a positive or a negative direction.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how health care providers, working at care facilities providing maintenance treatment programs for opiate dependence, perceive and manage the legal framework governing the treatment. The study is limited to a few particular rules within this framework which over the recent decade have been the subject matter of debate regarding i.a. their alleged lack of relation to scientific research and their frequently disastrous implications for program participants. The empirical material consists of interviews with five respondents working at four different care facilities and has been analyzed by using Lipskys theory on street-level bureaucrats as policymaking agents. The results of the study show that the rules are looked upon and dealt with in a liberal fashion and that the primary loyalty of the maintenance treatment staff is clearly directed towards promoting the well-being of their patients and helping them reach their treatment goals rather than strictly following the rules.