title: Attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment among fishermen in Kuantan, Malaysia, who inject drugs.
abstract: Fishermen who inject drugs represent an understudied group at high risk for HIV in Malaysia. This study describes fishing, drug use, and attitudes toward medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders. Thirty-four male ethnic Malay fishermen completed semistructured interviews analyzed by content analysis. Analysis revealed four themes surrounding opioids, which they called ubat ("medicine"): (a) the fishing lifestyle facilitating substance use, (b) previous unsuccessful attempts to quit, (c) categorizing substances as haram or halal, and (d) attitudes toward MAT. Fishermen's environment permits substance use, including injecting drugs on boats. Fishermen expressed more positive attitudes toward methadone and negative attitudes toward buprenorphine.
authors.affiliation: a Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , Connecticut.
authors.forename: Shan-Estelle
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: a Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , Connecticut.|b University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wickersham
authors.affiliation: c University of Connecticut , Storrs Mansfield , Connecticut.
authors.forename: Alyssa R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Pelletier
authors.affiliation: a Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , Connecticut.
authors.forename: Ruthanne M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.affiliation: d University of California , San Francisco , California.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Erenrich
authors.affiliation: a Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , Connecticut.|b University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
authors.forename: Adeeba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kamarulzaman
authors.affiliation: a Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , Connecticut.|b University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.|e Yale University School of Public Health , New Haven , Connecticut.
authors.forename: Frederick L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7860-693X
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Altice
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Buprenorphine; Malaysia; fishermen; injection drug use; medication-assisted treatment; methadone