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A study was conducted at a Durban high school which has a mixture of socioeconomic classes and races. All grade 10 pupils present on the day of the study were asked to complete a questionnaire under examination-like conditions. The aim was to determine the prevalence of dagga smoking as well as the pupils' knowledge of the effects and health risks of dagga smoking and the prevalence of associated features such as alcohol use, cigarette smoking and sexual activity. Dagga smoking was found to occur commonly (22.9%) and to be mainly a white male group activity. There was a strong association with cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse and a general lack of knowledge concerning the adverse health effects of dagga smoking. Peer pressure and relief of stress were cited as the commonest reasons for dagga smoking. More information and life skills training is required for this group of students as well as further research into substance abuse related topics in general. / Thesis (M.Med.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1997.

Introduction: Although drug-related problems (DRPs) are known to be prevalent in elderly patients, there are not many studies that have been performed in geriatric outpatients at public health facilities in South Africa. Thus, the prevalence of DRPs in elderly outpatients attending Addington Hospital was investigated and suitable preventive intervention strategies to overcome or minimise these DRPs were developed. Research Methodology: The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was conducted in March and April 1998, during which 281 elderly patients on chronic medical treatment were chosen for the study by systematic random sampling, according to specific inclusion criteria. Data collection was via a retrospective review of the elderly patient's medical notes and by personally interviewing the patient. Two research instruments were used in this phase. The customised Patient Profile (PF) form helped to delineate DRPs in the elderly patients. A Prescription Intervention Form (PIF) was used to inform the prescriber of the DRP and to make recommendations to change the drug therapy in order to overcome the DRP. In phase 2 of the study, intervention strategies were devised to address some of the major DRPs identified in phase 1 of the study. A patient counselling leaflet, prescribing guidelines for geriatric patients and a protocol for counselling of in-patients were developed. In addition, two DRP reporting systems were developed for surveillance of adverse drug reactions and medication errors during dispensing. Results and Discussions: Most geriatric subjects suffered from multiple, chronic conditions, these being hypertension (64.8%) followed by ischaemic heart disease (43.8%), musculoskeletal disorders (arthritis or gout) (42.7%), diabetes (29.2%), chronic obstructive airways disease (13.2%), hypercholesteremia (11.7%) and arrythmias (atrial fibrillation) (11.0%). The 281 patients were taking 1730 prescribed drugs, with a mean of 6.2 (range 3 to 15) prescribed drugs per patient. An astounding 45.6% of the total geriatric patients were taking or using between 7 to 9 medicines and 10.3% were taking or using between 10 to 15 medicines. The antihypertensives (15.9%) were the most widely prescribed drugs followed by medicines acting on CNS (10.9%), coronary vasodilators (9.1%), diuretics (9.1%) and medicines acting on the musculoskeletal system (8.7%). A total of 856 actual DRPs experienced by 262 geriatric patients (93.2%) ranged from 1 to 11 DRPs. The greater the number of prescribed drugs the greater the actual DRPs experienced by geriatric patients (p = 0.000). The most common DRPs were those involved in drug safety (56.6%); effectiveness of the drug therapy (20.8%); compliance (7.8%) and indication of drug therapy (7.6%). 159 elderly patients (56.6%) experienced 223 adverse effects either with their current or past prescribed medicines. The most common ADRs were as follows: gastro-intestinal ulceration (11.0%), cough (9.3%), diuretic side effects (dehydration, fatigue, hypotension, etc) (7.1%), constipation (6.8%), equilibrium problems (6.4%) and headaches (6.4%). For those DRPs warranting interventions, the mean number of prescription interventions in the entire sample population of 281 elderly patients was 0.65 ± 1.16. 87 elderly patients (30.1 %) had from 1 to 4 interventions on their current prescription. The most common prescription interventions were on problems involving drug therapy monitoring (26.9%), safety of drug therapy (26.5%), indication of drug therapy (17.5%), prescribing errors (15.3%) and prescription information omission (11.1 %). The three intervention strategies and DRPs surveillance reporting systems were successfully devised and developed. Conclusions: A profile related to the elderly patient's medical history and pharmacotherapy was completed for each of the 281 patients. General trends of prescribing pattern prevalence of DRPs and the prescribed inappropriate medication was established. The interventions of problem prescriptions were based on a newly developed PIF. The development and implementation of suitable intervention strategies to minimise DRPs were as follows: a compliance information leaflet, prescribing guidelines and the protocol for counselling in-patients. A medication error form as well as an adverse drug reaction reporting forms was developed for surveillance of DRPs. The recommendations for clinical practice and directions for future research that are presented should help to make drug therapy in the elderly safer and more effective. / Thesis (M.Pharm.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2000.

Exposure to sexual assault results in ongoing harms for women. After an assault, some women engage higher levels of externalizing behaviors, such as drinking problems and drug use, and others experience higher levels of internalizing dysfunction, such as clinical anxiety and clinical depression. In a longitudinal sample of 1929 freshman college women assessed across three time points, I found the following. Pre-assault negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly when distressed) interacted with assault exposure to predict increased subsequent drinking and initiation of drug use. Pre-assault trait anxiety/depression interacted with assault exposure to predict increased subsequent clinical anxiety and depression. There was also the surprising finding that the interaction between assault and trait anxiety/ depression was a protective factor against drinking and drug use. Finally, mean levels of trait negative urgency were significantly higher after an assault, though the same was not true for trait anxiety/depression. Women with different personalities tend to experience different forms of post-assault distress. These results support the development of targeted treatment protocols for trauma specific to personality types.

Darbo tema. Pastaraisiais metais vis dažniau susiduriama su narkomanijos problema, narkotikų paplitimu ir jų vartojimu jaunimo tarpe. Tai glaudžiai susiję su kitomis socialinėmis problemomis – smurtu, patyčiomis, savižudybėmis, nusikalstamumu. Nepaisant to, kad problema plačiai nagrinėjama globaliu mastu, reikia ieškoti atsakymų į klausimus: kodėl narkotikų paplitimas sparčiai didėja, kokiose socialinėse terpėse labiausiai vyrauja, kokios prevencinės priemonės yra taikomos, kaip jos veikia. Verta pabrėžti, kad būtent mokykloje moksleiviai susiduria su daugeliu socialinių veiksnių ir problemų: alkoholizmas, rūkymas, narkomanija, nusikalstamumas, mokyklos nelankymas, fizinė ir psichologinė prievarta bei kitomis. Moksleiviai apie narkotikus žino daugiau, nei suaugusieji - mokytojai ir tėvai. Moksleiviai domisi šiuo klausimu, žino daug narkotinių medžiagų pavadinimų, turi pažįstamų, vartojančių narkotikus, būna kompanijose, kuriose jie vartojami. Taigi narkotikų kontrolės ir narkomanijos prevencijos politikos įgyvendinimas turi būti grindžiamas aiškiais prioritetais, vertinimu, koordinavimo užtikrinimu, racionalių išteklių skirstymu ir naudojimu. Norint efektyviai kovoti ar racionaliai kontroliuoti šį reiškinį, pirmiausiai reikia jį tinkamai išnagrinėti visais pjūviais, pradedant nuo narkotikų rūšių, jų vartojimo priežasčių, pasekmių iki prevencinių programų, kooperuoto atsakingų institucijų bendradarbiavimo. Daug mokslinių darbų parašyta ir ne vienas tyrimas atliktas šia tema... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Thesis theme. Drug abuse and prevention in school: School childrens’, teachers’, parents’ and police officers’ opinion evaluation. Thesis author. Jonas Virbalis, a master student of sociology education program, Social education faculty (social work and sociological branch) at Vilnius Education University. Thesis tutor: Prof. Habil. Dr. Valdas Pruskus. Research problem. In recent years, more and more young people have drug addiction problems. This is closely related to other social problems - violence, bullying, suicide , crime. Despite the fact that the problem of extensively researched globally, it is necessary to look for the answers to the questions: Why is the prevalence of drugs is growing rapidly, what social media the most dominant, what preventive measures are applied, how they operate. It is well known that it is the school, students are faced with many social factors and problems: alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction, crime, school absenteeism, physical and psychological abuse, and others. Students know more about drugs than adults - teachers and parents. Students interested in this subject, knows a lot of names of drugs have acquaintances whose use drugs. Because of these facts thus, drug control and prevention policies must be based on clear priorities, evaluation, coordination ensuring rational distribution and use. In order to effectively fight or rational control this phenomenon, it must first be properly examined all sections, of this problem - starting with... [to full text]

An Attitude Survey consisting of 70 variables was administered to 1007 Indiana high school students. This sample came from public, parochial, and private schools. The survey was designed to investigate the backgrounds, attitudes, and personality characteristics of the high school drug user.Significant correlates of high school drug use were: sex, age, and grade in school, mother working outside the home, lack of closeness to family members, and parental drinking, smoking, and medicating habits. Users tended to identify strongly with their peers and depend upon them. They generally exhibited a negative attitude toward school and authority, a pessimistic assessment of life in general and of their own futures, and a positive evaluation of the effects of drugs.The high school drug user’s personality was marked by: depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, self-seeking, and a lack of religiosity. They also combined multiple personal worries and fears with few effective coping mechanisms.

The thesis was designed to measure patterns of drug use among undergraduate college students and to examine possible relationships between drug use and six personality traits. An anonymous questionnaire was administered by participating Eta Sigma Gamma faculty advisers and student members to 1,552 undergraduate college students enrolled in introductory health education courses at 11 universities. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and a chi-square analysis provided the means for evaluating the data.The Null hypotheses tested were: (1) drug use is independent of sex, age, race, religious affiliation, religiosity, residence, class, college major, and cumulative grade point average; and (2) drug use is independent of these six personality traits: purposelessness, anomie, insecurity, fatalistic thinking, and belief in intervention by God.The first Null hypothesis was rejected for all variables in that differences were statistically significant at the .05 level. The second Null hypothesis was rejected except for the personality trait of pessimism. All of the other personality scales indicated that the results were statistically significant at the .05 level.

Chemical dependency as it pertains to African-American males is examined through the theoretical perspectives of critical medical anthropology and clinically applied anthropology, the synthesis of the two referred to as critical clinically applied anthropology. The major etiological models and theories of chemical dependency are reviewed as are the contemporary chemical dependency treatment services.The critical clinically applied anthropological perspective examines chemical dependency and its treatment at four levels: 1) the macrosocial, 2) intermediate, 3) the microsocial, and 4) the individual. Additional variables concerning chemical dependency such as societal or large scale, institutional, local/environmental, organizational, and small scale factors are addressed as well. The above levels of analysis and independent variables indicate that racism, in the form of economic, political, and cultural oppression is a significant etiological factor concerning AfricanAmerican male chemical dependency. It is suggested that in order to provide more effective chemical dependency treatment, racial oppression must be addressed in the treatment setting. / Department of Anthropology

The sharing of needles among injection drug users (IDUs) is a common route of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis C Virus transmission. Through the increased utilization of social network analysis, researchers have been able to examine how the interpersonal relationships of IDUs affect injection risk behaviour. This study involves a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study of 156 IDUs from Winnipeg, Manitoba titled “Social Network Analysis of Injection Drug Users”. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the individual and the social network characteristics associated with needle sharing among the IDUs. Generalized Estimating Equations analysis was used to determine the injecting dyad characteristics which influence needle sharing behaviour between the IDUs and their injection drug using network members. The results revealed five key thematic findings that were significantly associated with needle sharing: (1) types of drug use, (2) socio-demographic status, (3) injecting in semi-public locations, (4) intimacy, and (5) social influence. The findings from this study suggest that comprehensive prevention approaches that target individuals and their network relationships may be necessary for sustainable reductions in needle sharing among IDUs.

Sharing and inappropriate discarding of syringes and drug use equipment can lead to transmission of bloodborne pathogens and decreased sense of community safety. To reduce these risks, interventions such as syringe drop boxes, are implemented. However, little consideration has been made of the social and spatial networks of the injection drug use (IDU) populations in the placement of these drop boxes. A sample of IDU was obtained through respondent driven sampling in Winnipeg, Canada in 2009. Characteristics of the sample and distribution of these characteristics through the social network were assessed. A spatial network was constructed which focused on the connections between IDU and specific geographic locations. Measures of centrality were calculated using Pajek and the geographic network was mapped using ArcGIS. Analysis of the social network revealed variation among network components in demographic and drug use characteristics. Spatial analysis revealed geographic clustering, quantified through network centrality measures. There was congruence between locations of high degree and current drop box placement in Winnipeg. This research illustrates the benefit of combining IDU social network and spatial data to inform evidence-based municipal policies and programs.