Type and frequency of substances injected in a sample of Haitian immigrant picuristes (informal injectionists) and clients.
In view of health inequities disfavoring Haitians, substances given by Florida Haitian picuristes/informal injectionists were investigated. Semi-structured interviews of 10 picuristes and 25 clients were obtained, transcribed, and analyzed using ATLAS.ti and SPSS. The most commonly injected substances were antibiotics (reported by eight of 10 picuristes, who sometimes compose substances when conventional pharmaceuticals are inaccessible). Haitian picuristes give injections based on clients' reported symptoms, and no clear or consistent protocol appears to exist for diagnosis, insuring injection safety, determining amount, or frequency of substances injected. Findings indicate frequent use and misuse of antibiotics. While not limited to this sample of Haitian immigrants, frequent and unmonitored use of antibiotics may add to health disparities by increasing antibiotic resistance among them and among others with similar health practices. A harm reduction approach for mitigating effects of antibiotic overuse is suggested.
Arkansas State University, in Social Work, Arkansas, USA. gjrahill@usf.edu
Guitele Jeudy
GJ
Rahill
Rebecca
R
Matthews
Debbie
D
Shelton
D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006205:Haiti / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D055815:Young Adult
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents