title: Similarities and differences in crack cocaine use patterns in Santa Catarina, Brazil: Capital vs. Midwest.
abstract: Crack cocaine has been a major public health problem in Brazil due to the individual and social harms and risks deriving from its use. This article aims to assess the characteristics of drug scenes in the capital and Midwest of Santa Catarina state. The project used the Time-Location Sampling. Between January and June 2011, 41 crack cocaine scenes were mapped in capital of Santa Catarina, whereas 33 were mapped in the Midwest of that state. Such scenes were randomly selected to be observed, as well as their days and shifts (time periods/day) for in-depth observation. Overall, 98 scenes/shifts were observed in the capital and 62 in the Midwest. First-hand reports were logged as field notes into notebooks. Analyses of the empirical material were based on Bardin's content analysis, and findings were compared and contrasted with Brazilian and international literature. Most crack cocaine users were adult males. In the capital, a substantial fraction of the users lived in the streets, but in both settings most interviewees have used multiple substances. In the Midwest, most scenes occurred at night, whereas in the capital scenes occurred in all shifts. Risk practices associated with the use of crack cocaine were: association of multiple drugs, prostitution, pipe sharing and sexual favors in exchange for the substance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Tecnologia e Inovação na Educação, Pesquisa e Extensão em Atenção Psicossocial e Drogas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Universitário, Trindade. 88040-970 Florianópolis SC Brasil. terezinha.zeferino@ufsc.br.
authors.forename: Maria Terezinha
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Zeferino
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Tecnologia e Inovação na Educação, Pesquisa e Extensão em Atenção Psicossocial e Drogas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Universitário, Trindade. 88040-970 Florianópolis SC Brasil. terezinha.zeferino@ufsc.br.
authors.forename: Vivian Costa
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Fermo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Tecnologia e Inovação na Educação, Pesquisa e Extensão em Atenção Psicossocial e Drogas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Universitário, Trindade. 88040-970 Florianópolis SC Brasil. terezinha.zeferino@ufsc.br.
authors.forename: Marcelo Brandt
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Fialho
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Informações em Saúde, Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde, Fiocruz. Rio de Janeiro RJ Brasil.
authors.forename: Francisco Inácio
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Bastos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011477:Sex Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine