Affiliations 

  • 1 a Associate Research Scientist, Department of Psychiatry , Yale School of Medicine , New Haven , CT , USA
  • 2 b Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA & Lecturer , Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia , Penang , Malaysia
  • 3 c Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences , Universiti Sains Malaysia , Penang , Malaysia
  • 4 d Medical Lecturer, School of Medical Sciences , Universiti Sains Malaysia , Kelantan , Malaysia
  • 5 e Professor, Department of Psychiatry , Yale School of Medicine , New Haven , CT , USA
  • 6 f Associate Professor, Centre for Drug Research , Universiti Sains Malaysia , Penang , Malaysia
  • 7 g Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry , Yale School of Medicine , New Haven , CT , USA
J Psychoactive Drugs, 2016 05 25;48(3):218-26.
PMID: 27224011 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2016.1185553

Abstract

The primarily rural and agrarian Kelantan province of Malaysia has high rates of drug use and is characterized by unique sociocultural factors. Combining qualitative and ethnographic methods, we investigated drug use and treatment needs of people who use drugs (PWUD) in rural areas of Kelantan. In February 2014, field visits, participant observation, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with 27 active PWUD were conducted in rural areas surrounding the capital city of Kelantan. The findings indicate a high prevalence of opiate and amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) use in these areas. FGD participants reported initiating drug use at early ages due to peer influences, to relieve boredom, to cope with problems, and a high saturation of villages with other PWUD was reported as a major contributor to their own continued drug use. They reported a trend of drug use initiation at younger ages and increased drug use among females. Participants were interested in treatment; however, their limited knowledge about treatment options and perceived limited availability of services were barriers to treatment seeking. Easy access to drugs, primarily from Thailand and facilitated by the use of mobile phones, resulted in an expanding prevalence of drug use that underscores the need to bolster education and prevention efforts and accessibility of treatment services in Kelantan.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.