Rains Alex, Augustine Erin, Miller Kyle, Bresett John, Bolinski Rebecca, Thompson Trevor, Ajayi Babatunde Patrick, Nicholson Will, Fletcher Scott, Jenkins Wiley D, Pho Mai T, Ouellet Lawrence J, Ezell Jerel M
Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Department of Population Science and Policy, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2025;60(4):558-565. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2440379. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Methamphetamine use is disproportionately high in rural settings, with rates increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. While syringe service programs reduce disease transmission among people who inject drugs, limited research exists around the value of smoking equipment, specifically pipes, in minimizing harms associated with rural methamphetamine use.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with people who use methamphetamine in rural southern Illinois. Inclusion criteria involved methamphetamine use in the past 30 days. Interview guides explored attitudes and behaviors regarding pipe use practices and pipe access. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. The data were analyzed for emergent themes using a sequential, deductive process.
Nineteen participants, average age 37.1 (SD + 8.7), were interviewed. 53% were women, and 89% were white. All reported smoking methamphetamine, and 84% reported injecting. Participants reported engaging in smoking instead of injection to decrease wounds, pain, and infections. Smoking enabled some to use socially as opposed to alone, as was typically the case when they injected. Participants expressed interest in pipe distribution through a harm reduction agency. They shared that, were a harm reduction agency to distribute pipes, it would connect people to other services such as HIV testing, naloxone, and safer sex supplies.
Pipe distribution may function as a harm reduction strategy by decreasing injection and solitary drug use and linking patients to additional services. Given disproportionate methamphetamine use in rural regions, this intervention could specifically address drug-related harms that impact rural populations.
农村地区甲基苯丙胺的使用比例过高，且在新冠疫情期间使用率有所上升。虽然注射器服务项目可减少注射吸毒者之间的疾病传播，但关于吸烟用具（特别是烟斗）在降低农村甲基苯丙胺使用相关危害方面的价值，相关研究有限。
我们对伊利诺伊州南部农村地区使用甲基苯丙胺的人群进行了半结构化访谈。纳入标准为在过去30天内使用过甲基苯丙胺。访谈指南探讨了关于烟斗使用习惯和获取烟斗的态度及行为。访谈进行了录音、转录和编码。使用顺序演绎法对数据进行分析以找出新出现的主题。
共访谈了19名参与者，平均年龄37.1岁（标准差+8.7）。53%为女性，89%为白人。所有参与者均报告吸食过甲基苯丙胺，84%报告有注射行为。参与者表示选择吸食而非注射是为了减少伤口、疼痛和感染。吸食使一些人能够进行社交性吸毒，而不像注射时通常那样独自吸毒。参与者对通过减少伤害机构分发烟斗表示感兴趣。他们分享说，如果减少伤害机构分发烟斗，将能让人们获得其他服务，如艾滋病毒检测、纳洛酮和安全性用品。
分发烟斗可能作为一种减少伤害的策略，通过减少注射和单独吸毒行为，并将患者与其他服务联系起来。鉴于农村地区甲基苯丙胺使用比例过高，这种干预措施可以专门解决影响农村人口的与毒品相关的危害。
