Bawo James
Bawo James1, Adeola Adeyelu1, J. Randy Koch2. 1Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Nigeria; 2Virginia Commonwealth University, United States
Background. In Nigeria, a 2017 nationwide community survey showed that 21% of ‘high-risk’ drug users were persons who inject drugs (PWIDs). Opioids (tramadol, codeine, morphine) were commonly injected, with half sharing needles and about 17% were women. This study aimed to determine the socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of injecting drug use among PWIDs accessing treatment and compare with that of PWIDs from the community survey.
Methods. A secondary analysis of data for the years 2017and 2018 from the Nigerian Epidemiological Network of Drug Use (NENDU). NENDU routinely collated data from clients accessing treatment at 18 selected treatment and counselling centres across Nigeria during the study period. A 28-item questionnaire collated (socio-demographic characteristics, type of service received, pattern of drug use, comorbidity) data at treatment entry.
Results. One hundred and eight (5.1%) of 2,113 clients seen were PWIDs. A majority were currently injecting at treatment entry (78.7%), sought treatment at the request of a family member (77.8%) and had stable housing (99.1%). Pentazocine (85.2%) was the commonly injected opioid. Just over a third (31.5%) were female, while poly-drug injecting (5.6%), and needle-sharing (14.6%) were uncommon. Conclusions. PWIDs accessing treatment commonly injected pentazocine, and did not frequently share needles, in contrast to findings from the nationwide community survey. Study findings suggest that attitudinal, structural, and financial barriers limiting treatment access exist, and strategies to increase treatment engagement and retention are required for PWIDs in Nigeria.