 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Jennifer Fuld, MA, ABD, New York Forum for Child Health, The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029-5293, 212-822-7390, jfuld@nyam.org and Maureen Miller, PhD, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, room 1210/12, New York City, NY 10032.
Research on social support and women who use drugs focuses on relationships that provide material and emotional support to women. Less is known about how women offer support, particularly to children. This analysis explores the relationship between the types of support women who use drugs provide for their children and also need to get clean. In-depth interviews were conducted, in Februrary - March 2000, with 28 women who used drugs (crack, cocaine, heroin) in NYC. Interview topics included drug use, family, children, social support and everyday experiences. Interviews with 16 women who had children were analyzed using Atlas.ti. Number of children ranged from 1-5 and many siblings lived with different caretakers. There were three types of primary care for children: with the respondent, with other family members, and foster care/adoption. Women’s relationships with children varied and 50% of women had no contact with at least one child. Women reported sex work or selling drugs to provide resources for children. Many (63%) described hiding drug use from their children. Attempts to stop drug use or attend treatment programs were described as secondary to providing for children and identified as a future goal when lives became more stable. Providing support for children was identified as a reason to stop drug use; however, women who had no contact with children described getting clean as a missed opportunity. Findings suggest a tension between providing support for children and being able to stop drug use. Women who use drugs require both everyday material support and long-term treatment options to provide a structure to both care for children and remain drug free.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Drug Use, Women's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.