This diploma thesis is focused on testing drug users. Specifically, this thesis is concerned with testing drug users in low-threshold centres.These low-threshold centres for drug users operate in the area of secondary and tertiary prevention. Furthermore, it describes individual diseases such as HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis, their mode of transmission, clinical course, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention, drug policy of the Czech Republic, the conditions for testing the abovementioned diseases in low-threshold centres and the legal framework for testing at these facilities.The practical part is divided into several research studies.The qualitative research is aimed at low-threshold centres. In this part, I am trying to determine the number of HIV, HBV and HCV tests performed in 2014. Next, the purpose of this section is also to define where the testing takes place and who is tested. The research data were obtained using a questionnaire distributed to the low-threshold centres in the CR. According to the Annual Report on Drug Epidemiology from 2014, there are 76 low-threshold centres in the Czech Rep. A total of 32 questionnaires were collected. The questionnaire consisted of 32 questions. Close-ended questions were used to detect the type of facility, whether the facility carries out tests for the chosen types of diseases, what type of test is used, who performs the testing and where the testing is carried out. Open-ended questions were used to determine the number of people tested. The qualitative research consists of 18 interviews with drug users from the Contact Centre Český Krumlov. Thanks to its field program, this centre operates in Český Krumlov, Větřní, Kaplice, Horní Planá, Loučovice, Frymburk, Vyšší Brod and in border regions such as Horní and Dolní Dvořiště or Studánky where the drug abuse is very problematic. The data were collected using a semistructured anonymous interview. The interview consisted of 4 areas:Data for identification purposes. Drug history.Testing.Awareness.30 questionnaires received from the respondents at the Prevent Contact Centre in České Budějovice can be found in the Appendix. The data were collected using an anonymous questionnaire which consisted of three basic areas. The collected data included drug history and identification information, information about testing for infectious diseases and knowledge of health risks. The thesis states 6 goals. The first 3 goals deal with mapping of HBV, HCV and HIV testing among drug users at low-threshold centres in 2014. The purpose of the fourth goal is to determine how the testing is carried out in low-threshold centres. The fifth goal attempts to establish whether drug users are interested in HBV, HCV and HIV testing. Finally, the sixth goal determines whether drug users were tested in 2014.After processing the results I established the following hypotheses which resulted from the research.H1: Drug users are interested in their health.H2:Drug users are aware of risks that result from these diseases.H3: The possibility of testing at low-threshold centres is not chosen very often by drug users.The research showed that drug users have adequate information about the risks that are associated with drug injection and injecting equipment sharing, but the average amount of performed tests is relatively low.To sum up, drug users need to be constantly informed about the importance of regular testing. In order to increase the number of tested people, it would be advisable to adapt the testing to the users' needs and also to perform more tests within field programs. It would also be helpful to link health facilities to contact centres locally.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:200637 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | VÁVROVÁ, Marie |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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