[Social Environment Of Female Drug Users Treated At The Abidjan Addictology And Mental Hygiene Service From January 2019 To December 2022].

Abstract

Context: Women's drug use is a taboo subject that remains poorly documented in our context, and the social environment plays an important role in this behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the social environment of female drug users treated at the Abidjan Addictology and Mental Hygiene Service (SAHM).

Materials and methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of 35 female drug users screened by urine toxicology analysis and followed up from January 2019 to December 2022 at the SAHM in Abidjan. They were recruited using non-probability, exhaustive sampling.

Results: Female drug users were aged 15-20 years in 48.58% of cases and were pupils or students (51.43%). The respondents were poly-substance users (80%), dominated by cannabis (74.28%), benzodiazepines (34.28%) and cocaine (29.85%), which were used for self-therapeutic purposes (45.72%). The social environment was dominated by a poor family atmosphere (48.57%), the influence of peers (91.42%), the presence of smoking rooms close to home (57.14%) and the availability of psychoactive substances nearby (82.86%) and at affordable prices (74.28%).

Conclusion: Knowledge of the social environment of female drug users is important for implementing awareness-raising and prevention measures tailored to the target population in order to combat the stigmatisation they may suffer.