ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2016
Heroin shortage in Coastal Kenya: A rapid assessment and qualitative analysis of heroin users' experiences.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Review of the Methods Used in Rapid Approaches to Research and Evaluation.Evaluation review · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The pathway to establishing and implementing opioid agonist therapy (OAT) for people who inject drugs in Nairobi, Kenya.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Shifts in substance use patterns among a cohort of people who use opioids after delisting of OxyContin in BC, Canada: An interrupted time series study.The International journal on drug policy · 2022Article
- A rapid review of the impacts of "Big Events " on risks, harms, and service delivery among people who use drugs: Implications for responding to COVID-19.The International journal on drug policy · 2021Review
- Exploring the Perceived Risks and Benefits of Heroin Use among Young People (18-24 Years) in Mauritius: Economic Insights from an Exploratory Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Trajectories of initiation for the heroin-based drug whoonga - qualitative evidence from South Africa.The International journal on drug policy · 2020Article
- The Opioid Epidemic in Africa And Its Impact.Current addiction reports · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionWhile relatively rare events, abrupt disruptions in heroin availability have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality risk among those who are heroin dependent. A heroin shortage occurred in Coast Province, Kenya from December 2010 to March 2011. This qualitative analysis describes the shortage events and consequences from the perspective of heroin users, along with implications for health and other public sectors.
methodsAs part of a rapid assessment, 66 key informant interviews and 15 focus groups among heroin users in Coast Province, Kenya were conducted. A qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken in Atlas.ti. to identify salient themes related to the shortage.
resultsOverall, participant accounts were rooted in a theme of desperation and uncertainty, with emphasis on six sub-themes: (1) withdrawal and strategies for alleviating withdrawal, including use of medical intervention and other detoxification attempts; (2) challenges of dealing with unpredictable drug availability, cost, and purity; (3) changes in drug use patterns, and actions taken to procure heroin and other drugs; (4) modifications in drug user relationship dynamics and networks, including introduction of risky group-level injection practices; (5) family and community response; and (6) new challenges with the heroin market resurgence.
conclusionsThe heroin shortage led to a series of consequences for drug users, including increased risk of morbidity, mortality and disenfranchisement at social and structural levels. Availability of evidence-based services for drug users and emergency preparedness plans could have mitigated this impact.
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