Rationalities of Space and Drug-Related Harms: Accounts of People Who Inject Drugs in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Background

Studies have examined how people who inject drugs (PWID) navigate public spaces for drug consumption, but little is known about consumption of drugs in private apartments. This study explores social, structural and physical environment factors influencing injecting practices and the rationalities shaping how PWID make decisions about where to consume drugs.

Methods

The study is based on qualitative data from 41 in-depth interviews conducted with both homeless and housed PWID recruited through snowball sampling in Uyo, Nigeria. Thematic analysis, framed by the theoretical constructs of structural and everyday violence, and situated rationality theories, was undertaken on transcripts.

Results

Analysis revealed different socio-spatial rationalities underlying decisions about where to use drugs: avoidance of police arrest, convenience and relaxation, avoidance of drug sharing, avoidance of drug-scene violence, and stigma and shame. These factors show the impacts of social, structural and physical environment factors on the lived experiences of PWID. Injecting in private apartments potentially offset the risk of stigma, police arrest and violence linked to public injecting, but increase the risk of overdose and sharing of drugs and needle-syringes based on social relations of trust.

Conclusions

Findings show that PWID chose between competing risks when deciding on where to inject drugs. Interventions should consider the situated contexts of risk, and adapt harm reduction measures to the risk profile of different populations of PWID.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug use spaces
• risk
• situated rationalities

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes

1 The survey provides no information on overdose.

2 In Nigeria, private flats or apartments are built residential facilities which contain a sitting room, bed room/s, kitchen and bathroom/s. Single occupant apartments (known as ‘self-contained’) merges the sitting room and bedrooms.