Reasons for Injecting and Not Injecting: a qualitative study to inform therapeutic intervention

Abstract

This study aimed to explore what distinguished injecting from other methods of drug ingestion. A qualitative method using semi-structured interviews and interpretive phenomenological analysis identified the primary themes and hence the cognitions behind the behaviour of long-term injecting drug users. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed with the intention of approaching this subject from the participant's viewpoint rather than that of either the academic researcher or the drugs worker. The master themes identified were pleasure, economy, a perceived absence of alternatives, pain, self-harm, ritual and self-image. Little evidence was found to support the notion of 'needle fixation'. No evidence was discovered to support the idea that injecting has a sexual component; other than sexual language may be used to describe the effect of injecting drugs to outsiders who have no other common experience. Suggestions are made as to how emergent themes may be incorporated into current interventions used by therapists assisting injecting drug users to stop injecting. Policy implications are discussed.