A community-based study of abscess self-treatment and barriers to medical care among people who inject drugs in the United States.

Autor: Ozga JE; Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA., Syvertsen JL; Department of Anthropology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA., Zweifler JA; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco-Fresno, Fresno, CA, USA., Pollini RA; Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.; Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, MD, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Health & social care in the community [Health Soc Care Community] 2022 Sep; Vol. 30 (5), pp. 1798-1808. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Sep 01.
DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13559
Abstrakt: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are the most common medical complication of injection drug use in the United States, though little work has been done assessing SSTI treatment among people who inject drugs (PWID). We examined past-3-month abscess characteristics, treatment utilization, and barriers to medical treatment among N = 494 community-recruited PWID. We used descriptive statistics to determine the frequencies of self-treatment and medical treatment for their most recent past-3-month abscess as well as barriers to seeking medical treatment. We then used bivariate and multivariate logistic regression to identify factors associated with having an abscess in the past 3 months. Overall, 67% of participating PWID ever had an abscess and 23% had one in the past 3 months. Only 29% got medical treatment for their most recent abscess whereas 79% self-treated. Methods for self-treatment included pressing the pus out (81%), applying a hot compress (79%), and applying hydrogen peroxide (67%). Most (91%) self-treated abscesses healed without further intervention. Barriers to medical treatment included long wait times (56%), being afraid to go (49%), and not wanting to be identified as a PWID (46%). Factors associated independently with having an abscess in the past 3 months were injecting purposely into muscle tissue (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.64), having difficulty finding a vein (AOR = 2.08), and sharing injection preparation equipment (AOR = 1.74). Our findings emphasize the importance of expanding community-based access to SSTI education and treatment services, particularly at syringe service programs where PWID may be more comfortable seeking resources.
(© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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