title: Do performance and image enhancing drug users in regional Queensland experience difficulty accessing health services?
abstract: To understand health service access and needs of people who use performance and image enhancing drugs (PIED) in regional Queensland.
  
  
  
  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 people (n = 19 men) who reported the use of a range of PIEDs, including anabolic-androgenic steroids, human chorionic gonadotropin, growth hormone, clenbuterol, tamoxifen, insulin and peptides.
  
  
  
  Participants reported accessing a range of services, including needle and syringe programs and pharmacies, for sterile injecting equipment. While PIEDs users attributed some stigma to needle and syringe programs, they were seen as an important service for injecting equipment. Participants reported receiving either positive care from health-care providers, such as general practitioners (GP), or having negative experiences due to the stigma attached with PIED use. Few participants reported disclosing their PIED use to their GP not only because of the concerns that their GP would no longer see them but also because they felt their GP was not knowledgeable about these substances.
  
  
  
  Participants in the study reported no difficulty in accessing health services based on living in a regional area, with their concern focused more upon how they were viewed and treated by service staff. [Dunn M, Henshaw R, Mckay F. H. Do performance and image enhancing drug users in regional Queensland experience difficulty accessing health services? Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:377-382].
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.|National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Queensland Health, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Henshaw
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: McKay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D045930:Anabolic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D055030:Drug Users; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011793:Queensland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D045930:Anabolic Agents; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances
keywords: health service; performance and image enhancing drug; policy; regional health; steroid