Een kwalitatieve verkenning van gepercipieerde discriminatie, etnische identiteit, sociaal netwerk en middelengebruik bij personen met een Turkse en Oost-Europese migratieachtergrond in Gent

A

Implementing community-based participatory research in the study of substance use and service utilisation in Eastern European and Turkish communities in Belgium

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is an effective strategy to promote action research regarding health and substance use issues. The London-based Centre for Ethnicity and Health's CBPR model was replicated in Belgium to study substance use and service utilisation in Bulgarian, Slovakian and Turkish communities in the city of Ghent. This article focuses on the implementation of the CBPR model, challenges and adaptions linked to the Belgian context. In this paper, we describe the study design and actors involved, namely (1) community organisations, (2) the community advisory board and (3) community researchers. Furthermore, we focus on the challenges and pitfalls of the CBPR method and its implications, including (1) community collaboration, (2) co-ethnic researchers, (3) characteristics of the respondents and (4) empowerment of the respective communities. We conclude by discussing potential pathways for future CBPR in the field of substance use and service utilisation among migrants and ethnic minorities

Drug use changes at the individual level : Results from a longitudinal, multisite survey in young europeans frequenting the nightlife scene

Background: Monitoring emerging trends in the increasingly dynamic European drug market is vital; however, information on change at the individual level is scarce. In the current study, we investigated changes in drug use over 12 months in European nightlife attendees. Method: In this longitudinal online survey, changes in substances used, use frequency in continued users, and relative initiation of use at follow-up were assessed for 20 different substances. To take part, participants had to be aged 18–34 years; be from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the UK; and have attended at least 6 electronic music events in the past 12 months at baseline. Of 8,045 volunteers at baseline, 2,897 completed the survey at both time points (36% follow-up rate), in 2017 and 2018. Results: The number of people using ketamine increased by 21% (p < 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in those continuing use increased by 15% (p < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.07–0.23). 4-Fluoroamphetamine use decreased by 27% (p < 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in continuing users decreased by 15% (p < 0.001, 95% CI: −0.48 to −0.23). The drugs with the greatest proportion of relative initiation at follow-up were synthetic cannabinoids (73%, N = 30), mephedrone (44%, N = 18), alkyl nitrites (42%, N = 147), synthetic dissociatives (41%, N = 15), and prescription opioids (40%, N = 48). Conclusions: In this European nightlife sample, ketamine was found to have the biggest increase in the past 12 months, which occurred alongside an increase in frequency of use in continuing users. The patterns of uptake and discontinuation of alkyl nitrates, novel psychoactive substances, and prescription opioids provide new information that has not been captured by existing cross-sectional surveys. These findings demonstrate the importance of longitudinal assessments of drug use and highlight the dynamic nature of the European drug landscape

Percepties rond druggerelateerde interventies op muziekfestivals in België

Various drug-related strategies are being implemented at festivals to reduce drug use or the risks associated with it, including prevention, harm reduction, healthcare, and law enforcement. The effectiveness of some of these strategies has not been consistently demonstrated, whereas others remain un- explored in terms of their impact. As a result, following research question was formulated: “How do festival attendees and stakeholders perceive the impact of drug-related interventions implemented at music festivals?” A mixed-method approach was adopted to address this question, combining quantitative data collection through experience sampling method with qualitative insights gathered from semi-structured interviews. A total of 320 festival attendees and 44 festival stakeholders participated in this study. Results show, on the one hand, that none of the strategies was perceived as being able to influence the frequency of drug use. On the other hand, while harm reduction interventions were perceived as likely to reduce risky drug use behaviors, repressive interventions were perceived as likely to increase the occurrence of such behaviors. Based on these and other results, conclusions and recommendations were drawn

Substance use among people with a migration background : a community based participatory research study

Professionals working in addiction care in both Belgium and other European countries have identified a discrepancy between the prevalence of problem substance use among people with a migration background, and the presence of people with a migration background in treatment facilities. However, little research is currently available on this topic. This study attempts to fill the knowledge gap in existing research by exploring the patterns of substance use, expectations and treatment needs of people with a migration background in four Belgian target groups (the Turkish community in Ghent; the Eastern European communities in Ghent; the Congolese community in Brussels; and asylum applicants, refugees and undocumented migrants). Substance users with a migration background can be particularly difficult for researchers to reach, so community researchers were recruited to interview substance users from within their own network. Over 200 people were interviewed. The project was carried out in close collaboration with the respective communities and with stakeholders in addiction care. This book presents the findings of the study, together with recommendations for health care policy and the practice of addiction care. It also details the explorative and qualitative community-based participatory research design (CBPR) that was used to facilitate the study