Substance use and substance use disorders in relation to COVID-19: qualitative experiences of people who use drugs in Jordan

Mayyada Wazaify; Sukaina AlZyoud; Dania Shahin; Jenny Scott; Navin Kumar; Richard Pates; Kaveh Khoshnood

doi:10.1080/14659891.2024.2302188

Substance use and substance use disorders in relation to COVID-19: qualitative experiences of people who use drugs in Jordan

Mayyada Wazaify, Sukaina AlZyoud, Dania Shahin, Jenny Scott, Navin Kumar, Richard Pates, Kaveh Khoshnood

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (SciVal)

Abstract

Background: Monitoring substance use and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) during global pandemics is essential, as individuals who engage in such activities may be at greater risk for infections as well as economic and social complications. This study aimed to describe the impact of COVID-19 on substance use and SUD, any changes that occurred in patterns of use, and services provided, the main challenges faced and if and how they had been overcome.

Methods: A qualitative study consisting of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a sample of SUD patients from 3 main addiction treatment centers in Jordan. Recruitment stopped once data saturation was reached. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo-R1 software, and thematic analysis was undertaken.

Results: A total of 17 individuals were interviewed (male, aged 19–52 years). Five key themes emerged from a narrative analysis: Impact of COVID-19 on the availability of substances, the pattern of use, social life and its relation to SUD, impact on tobacco smoking, and finally on the user’s health, awareness and hygienic measures.

Conclusions: This study provided in-depth information to inform, support, and customize the design of interventions to mitigate the negative effects of substance use and SUD-related outcomes in a rapidly changing pandemic.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Substance Use
Early online date	14 Jan 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2024.2302188
Publication status	Published - 14 Jan 2024
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This work was funded by a generous grant from Albdul Hameed Shoman Foundation Research Support Fund (AHSF). We also would like to thank the participating patients and all workers at the Addiction Treatment centre (AND), National Centre for Rehabilitation of Addicts (NCRA) and Forearms of Change Centre for Enabling the Communality (FOCCCEC) in Amman for facilitating this work

Funders	Funder number
Albdul Hameed Shoman Foundation Research Support Fund

Keywords

addiction
COVID-19
Jordan
MENA
pandemic
substance use disorder

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Medicine (miscellaneous)
Health(social science)

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10.1080/14659891.2024.2302188

Wazaify et al 2024
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Substance Use on 14 Jan 2024, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2024.2302188.
Accepted author manuscript, 1.34 MBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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abstract = "Background: Monitoring substance use and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) during global pandemics is essential, as individuals who engage in such activities may be at greater risk for infections as well as economic and social complications. This study aimed to describe the impact of COVID-19 on substance use and SUD, any changes that occurred in patterns of use, and services provided, the main challenges faced and if and how they had been overcome. Methods: A qualitative study consisting of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a sample of SUD patients from 3 main addiction treatment centers in Jordan. Recruitment stopped once data saturation was reached. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo-R1 software, and thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: A total of 17 individuals were interviewed (male, aged 19–52 years). Five key themes emerged from a narrative analysis: Impact of COVID-19 on the availability of substances, the pattern of use, social life and its relation to SUD, impact on tobacco smoking, and finally on the user{\textquoteright}s health, awareness and hygienic measures. Conclusions: This study provided in-depth information to inform, support, and customize the design of interventions to mitigate the negative effects of substance use and SUD-related outcomes in a rapidly changing pandemic.",

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AB - Background: Monitoring substance use and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) during global pandemics is essential, as individuals who engage in such activities may be at greater risk for infections as well as economic and social complications. This study aimed to describe the impact of COVID-19 on substance use and SUD, any changes that occurred in patterns of use, and services provided, the main challenges faced and if and how they had been overcome. Methods: A qualitative study consisting of face-to-face semi-structured interviews with a sample of SUD patients from 3 main addiction treatment centers in Jordan. Recruitment stopped once data saturation was reached. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo-R1 software, and thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: A total of 17 individuals were interviewed (male, aged 19–52 years). Five key themes emerged from a narrative analysis: Impact of COVID-19 on the availability of substances, the pattern of use, social life and its relation to SUD, impact on tobacco smoking, and finally on the user’s health, awareness and hygienic measures. Conclusions: This study provided in-depth information to inform, support, and customize the design of interventions to mitigate the negative effects of substance use and SUD-related outcomes in a rapidly changing pandemic.

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Substance use and substance use disorders in relation to COVID-19: qualitative experiences of people who use drugs in Jordan

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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