Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Perceptions of Health-Related Community Reentry Challenges among Incarcerated Drug Users in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine

  • Published:
Journal of Urban Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Facing competing demands with limited resources following release from prison, people who inject drugs (PWID) may neglect health needs, with grave implications including relapse, overdose, and non-continuous care. We examined the relative importance of health-related tasks after release compared to tasks of everyday life among a total sample of 577 drug users incarcerated in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan. A proxy measure of whether participants identified a task as applicable (easy or hard) versus not applicable was used to determine the importance of each task. Correlates of the importance of health-related reentry tasks were analyzed using logistic regression, with a parsimonious model being derived using Bayesian lasso method. Despite all participants having substance use disorders and high prevalence of comorbidities, participants in all three countries prioritized finding a source of income, reconnecting with family, and staying out of prison over receiving treatment for substance use disorders, general health conditions, and initiating methadone treatment. Participants with poorer general health were more likely to prioritize treatment for substance use disorders. While prior drug injection and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) correlated with any interest in methadone in all countries, only in Ukraine did a small number of participants prioritize getting methadone as the most important post-release task. While community-based OAT is available in all three countries and prison-based OAT only in Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz prisoners were less likely to choose help staying off drugs and getting methadone. Overall, prisoners consider methadone treatment inapplicable to their pre-release planning. Future studies that involve patient decision-making and scale-up of OAT within prison settings are needed to better improve individual and public health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Global AIDS update 2016. 2016: Geneva, Switzerland. p. Accessed on May 28, 2016 at: http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/global-AIDS-update-2016_en.pdf.

  2. Altice FL, Azbel L, Stone J, Brooks-Pollock E, Smyrnov P, Dvoriak S, et al. The perfect storm: incarceration and the high-risk environment perpetuating transmission of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Lancet. 2016;388(10050):1228–48.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Inglehart R, Welzel C. Modernization, cultural change, and democracy: the human development sequence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 2005. x, 333 p

  4. Csete J, Kamarulzaman A, Kazatchkine M, Altice F, Balicki M, Buxton J, et al. Public health and international drug policy. Lancet. 2016;387(10026):1427–80.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Dolan K, Wirtz AL, Moazen B, Ndeffo-mbah M, Galvani A, Kinner SA, et al. Global burden of HIV, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis in prisoners and detainees. Lancet. 2016;388(10049):1089–102.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Izenberg JM, Bachireddy C, Wickersham JA, Soule M, Kiriazova T, Dvoriak S, et al. Within-prison drug injection among HIV-infected Ukrainian prisoners: prevalence and correlates of an extremely high-risk behaviour. Int J Drug Policy. 2014;25(5):845–52.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Kamarulzaman A, Reid SE, Schwitters A, Wiessing L, el-Bassel N, Dolan K, et al. Prevention of transmission of HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in prisoners. Lancet. 2016;388(10049):1115–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Azbel L, Wickersham JA, Grishaev Y, Dvoryak S, Altice FL. Burden of infectious diseases, substance use disorders, and mental illness among Ukrainian prisoners transitioning to the community. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59643.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Azbel L, Polonsky M, Wegman M, Shumskaya N, Kurmanalieva A, Asanov A, et al. Intersecting epidemics of HIV, HCV, and syphilis among soon-to-be released prisoners in Kyrgyzstan: implications for prevention and treatment. Int J Drug Policy. 2016;37:9–20.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Azbel L, Wickersham JA, Wegman MP, Polonsky M, Suleymanov M, Ismayilov R, et al. Burden of substance use disorders, mental illness, and correlates of infectious diseases among soon-to-be released prisoners in Azerbaijan. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015;151:68–75.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Sander G, Scandurra A, Kamenska A, MacNamara C, Kalpaki C, Bessa CF, et al. Overview of harm reduction in prisons in seven European countries. Harm Reduct J. 2016;13(1):28.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Green DA. Penal optimism and second chances: the legacies of American Protestantism and the prospects for penal reform. Punishment Soc Int J Penol. 2013;15(2):123–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Polonsky M, Rozanova J, Azbel L, Bachireddy C, Izenberg J, Kiriazova T, et al. Attitudes toward addiction, methadone treatment, and recovery among HIV-infected Ukrainian prisoners who inject drugs: incarceration effects and exploration of mediators. AIDS Behav. 2016;20:2950–60.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Kahneman D, Slovic P, Tversky A. Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press; 1982. xiii, 555 p

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. Buehler R, Griffin D, Ross M. Exploring the planning fallacy—why people underestimate their task completion times. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1994;67(3):366–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Reitz KR. American exceptionalism in crime and punishment. New York: Oxford University Press; 2017. pages cm

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. Dennis AC, et al. You're in a world of chaos: experiences accessing HIV care and adhering to medications after incarceration. Janac-J Assoc Nurses Aids Care. 2015;26(5):542–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Morozova O, Azbel L, Grishaev Y, Dvoryak S, Wickersham JA, Altice FL. Ukrainian prisoners and community reentry challenges: implications for transitional care. Int J Prison Health. 2013;9(1):5–19.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Choi P, Kavasery R, Desai MM, Govindasamy S, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL. Prevalence and correlates of community re-entry challenges faced by HIV-infected male prisoners in Malaysia. Int J STD AIDS. 2010;21(6):416–23.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Loeliger KB, Altice FL, Desai MM, Ciarleglio MM, Gallagher C, Meyer JP. Predictors of linkage to HIV care and viral suppression after release from jails and prisons: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet HIV. 2018;5(2):e96–e106. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(17)30209-6.

  21. Bhushan A, Brown SE, Marcus R, Altice FL. Explaining poor health-seeking among HIV-infected released prisoners. Int J Prison Health. 2015;11(4):209–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Althoff AL, Zelenev A, Meyer JP, Fu J, Brown SE, Vagenas P, et al. Correlates of retention in HIV care after release from jail: results from a multi-site study. AIDS Behav. 2013;17(Suppl 2):S156–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0372-1.

  23. Merrall EL, et al. Meta-analysis of drug-related deaths soon after release from prison. Addiction. 2010;105(9):1545–54.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Andrews JY, Kinner SA. Understanding drug-related mortality in released prisoners: a review of national coronial records. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:270.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Binswanger IA, Stern MF, Deyo RA, Heagerty PJ, Cheadle A, Elmore JG, et al. Release from prison—a high risk of death for former inmates. N Engl J Med. 2007;356(2):157–65.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Strang J, Bird SM, Parmar MK. Take-home emergency naloxone to prevent heroin overdose deaths after prison release: rationale and practicalities for the N-ALIVE randomized trial. J Urban Health. 2013;90(5):983–96.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Adams J, Nowels C, Corsi K, Long J, Steiner JF, Binswanger IA. HIV risk after release from prison: a qualitative study of former inmates. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2011;57(5):429–34.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Iroh PA, Mayo H, Nijhawan AE. The HIV care cascade before, during, and after incarceration: a systematic review and data synthesis. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(7):e5–16.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Rich JD, Beckwith CG, Macmadu A, Marshall BDL, Brinkley-Rubinstein L, Amon JJ, et al. Clinical care of incarcerated people with HIV, viral hepatitis, or tuberculosis. Lancet. 2016;388(10049):1103–14.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Hunt, N., & Tyrell, S., Stratified sampling. 2001, Coventry University: UK.

  31. Brislin RW. Back-translation for cross-cultural research. J Cross-Cultural Psych. 1970;1:185–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Jurgens R, Ball A, Verster A. Interventions to reduce HIV transmission related to injecting drug use in prison. Lancet Infect Dis. 2009;9(1):57–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. The World Bank. Prevalence of HIV. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.AIDS.ZS. Accessed 15 Feb 2018.

  34. World health organization: Review of HIV program in Azerbaijan. Prepared by: Dave Burrows, Azizbek Boltaev and Mirza Musa, APM Global Health, Sydney, Australia; and Magnús Gottfreðsson, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland; and Javahir Suleymanova, WHO CO Azerbaijan. 2014. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/308000/Review-HIV-Programme-Azerbaijan-missionreport.pdf?ua=1. Accessed on 3 Nov 2017.

  35. Cook C, Kanaef N. The global state of harm reduction 2008: mapping the response to drugrelated HIV and hepatitis C epidemics © 2008 international harm reduction association. International Harm Reduction Association, London. 2008. http://www.antoniocasella.eu/archila/HARM_reduction_2008.pdf. Accessed on 3 Nov 2017.

  36. Institute for Criminal Policy Research. World Prison Brief Report, Kyrgyzstan. London, UK: Birkbek University of London; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Subata E, Moller L. Evaluation of opioid substitution therapy in Kyrgyzstan. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  38. List of low, lower-middle, and upper-middle income economies according to the world bank 38th annual conference of the international society for clinical biostatistics. Vigo, Spain. 2017. http://www.iscb2017.info/uploadedFiles/ISCB2017.y23bw/fileManager/CFDC%20World%20Bank%20List.pdf. Accessed on 3 Nov 2017.

  39. Institute for Criminal Policy Research. World prison brief Ukraine. London, UK: Birkbek, University of London; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  40. European monitoring center for drugs and drug addiction: Ukraine country overview. 2016. http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/ukraine_en. Accessed on 3 Nov 2017.

  41. Latypov AB. The Soviet doctor and the treatment of drug addiction: "a difficult and most ungracious task". Harm Reduction Journal. 2011;8:32.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Sarang A, Stuikyte R, Bykov R. Implementation of harm reduction in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Int J Drug Policy. 2007;18(2):129–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Saunders JB, et al. Development of the Alcohol-Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol-consumption—2. Addiction. 1993;88(6):791–804.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Weissman MM, et al. Assessing depressive symptoms in five psychiatric populations: a validation study. Am J Epidemiol. 1977;106(3):203–14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Ware JE Jr, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care. 1992;30(6):473–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Sherbourne CD, Stewart AL. The MOS social support survey. Soc Sci Med. 1991;32(6):705–14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Reinert DF, Allen JP. The alcohol use disorders identification test: an update of research findings. Alcoholism-Clinical and Experimental Research. 2007;31(2):185–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Andresen EM, Malmgren JA, Carter WB, Patrick DL. Screening for depression in well older adults: evaluation of a short form of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). Am J Prev Med. 1994;10(2):77–84.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. World Health Organization. Systematic screening for active tuberculosis. 2013 October 12 2017]; Available from: http://www.who.int/tb/publications/Final_TB_Screening_guidelines.pdf.

  50. Springer SA, Spaulding AC, Meyer JP, Altice FL. Public health implications for adequate transitional care for HIV-infected prisoners: five essential components. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;53(5):469–79.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Park T, Casella G. The Bayesian lasso. J Am Stat Assoc. 2008;103(482):681–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Morozova O, Levina O, Uusküla A, Heimer R. Comparison of subset selection methods in linear regression in the context of health-related quality of life and substance abuse in Russia. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2015;15:71.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Huang A, Liu D. EBglmnet: a comprehensive R package for sparse generalized linear regression models. Bioinformatics. 2016;1–3. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btw143

  54. Maslow AH. A theory of human motivation. Psychol Rev. 1943;50:370–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Madden L, Bojko MJ, Farnum S, Mazhnaya A, Fomenko T, Marcus R, et al. Using nominal group technique among clinical providers to identify barriers and prioritize solutions to scaling up opioid agonist therapies in Ukraine. Int J Drug Policy. 2017;49:48–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.07.025.

  56. Rozanova J, Marcus R, Taxman FS, Bojko MJ, Madden L, Farnum S, et al. Why people who inject drugs voluntarily transition off methadone in Ukraine. Qual Health Res. 2017;27(13):2057–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732317732307.

  57. Maruna, S. and R. Immarigeon, After crime and punishment: pathways to offender reintegration. 2004, Cullompton; Portland, Or.: Willan. xviii, 302 p.

  58. van Veen V, Krug MK, Schooler JW, Carter CS. Neural activity predicts attitude change in cognitive dissonance. Nat Neurosci. 2009;12(11):1469–74.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Parsons MA. Dying unneeded: the cultural context of the Russian mortality crisis. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. xii; 2014. 209 pages

    Google Scholar 

  60. Timko C, Schultz NR, Cucciare MA, Vittorio L, Garrison-Diehn C. Retention in medication-assisted treatment for opiate dependence: a systematic review. J Addict Dis. 2016;35(1):22–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Wegman MP, Altice FL, Kaur S, Rajandaran V, Osornprasop S, Wilson D, et al. Relapse to opioid use in opioid-dependent individuals released from compulsory drug detention centres compared with those from voluntary methadone treatment centres in Malaysia: a two-arm, prospective observational study. Lancet Global Health. 2017;5(2):E198–207.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Kinlock TW, Gordon MS, Schwartz RP, Fitzgerald TT, O'Grady KE. A randomized clinical trial of methadone maintenance for prisoners: results at 12 months postrelease. J Subst Abus Treat. 2009;37(3):277–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Rich JD, McKenzie M, Larney S, Wong JB, Tran L, Clarke J, et al. Methadone continuation versus forced withdrawal on incarceration in a combined US prison and jail: a randomised, open-label trial. Lancet. 2015;386(9991):350–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Makarenko I, Mazhnaya A, Polonsky M, Marcus R, Bojko MJ, Filippovych S, et al. Determinants of willingness to enroll in opioid agonist treatment among opioid dependent people who inject drugs in Ukraine. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016;165:213–20.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  65. Bojko MJ, Mazhnaya A, Marcus R, Makarenko I, Islam Z, Filippovych S, et al. The future of opioid agonist therapies in Ukraine: a qualitative assessment of multilevel barriers and ways forward to promote retention in treatment. J Subst Abus Treat. 2016;66:37–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  66. Mazhnaya A, et al. In their own voices: breaking the vicious cycle of addiction, treatment and criminal justice among people who inject drugs in Ukraine. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. 2016;23(2):163–75.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Polonsky M, Azbel L, Wickersham JA, Taxman FS, Grishaev E, Dvoryak S, et al. Challenges to implementing opioid substitution therapy in Ukrainian prisons: personnel attitudes toward addiction, treatment, and people with HIV/AIDS. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015;148:47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.12.008.

  68. Polonsky M, Azbel L, Wickersham JA, Marcus R, Doltu S, Grishaev E, et al. Accessing methadone within Moldovan prisons: prejudice and myths amplified by peers. Int J Drug Policy. 2016;29:91–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Azbel L, Rozanova J, Michels I, Altice FL, Stöver H. A qualitative assessment of an abstinence-oriented therapeutic community for prisoners with substance use disorders in Kyrgyzstan. Harm Reduction Journal. 2017;14:43.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Elwyn G, Dannenberg M, Blaine A, Poddar U, Durand MA. Trustworthy patient decision aids: a qualitative analysis addressing the risk of competing interests. BMJ Open. 2016;6(9):e012562.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  71. Durand MA, Witt J, Joseph-Williams N, Newcombe RG, Politi MC, Sivell S, et al. Minimum standards for the certification of patient decision support interventions: feasibility and application. Patient Educ Couns. 2015;98(4):462–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Elwyn G, Lloyd A, Joseph-Williams N, Cording E, Thomson R, Durand MA, et al. Option grids: shared decision making made easier. Patient Educ Couns. 2013;90(2):207–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Rozanova J, Brown SE, Bhushan A, Marcus R, Altice FL. Effect of social relationships on antiretroviral medication adherence for people living with HIV and substance use disorders and transitioning from prison. Health Justice. 2015;3:18.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  74. Jolley E, Rhodes T, Platt L, Hope V, Latypov A, Donoghoe M, et al. HIV among people who inject drugs in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia: a systematic review with implications for policy. BMJ Open. 2012;2(5):e001465.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  75. Smye V, Browne AJ, Varcoe C, Josewski V. Harm reduction, methadone maintenance treatment and the root causes of health and social inequities: an intersectional lens in the Canadian context. Harm Reduct J. 2011;8:17.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  76. Mazhnaya A, Bojko MJ, Marcus R, Filippovych S, Islam Z, Dvoriak S, et al. In their own voices: breaking the vicious cycle of addiction, treatment and criminal justice among people who inject drugs in Ukraine. Drugs (Abingdon Engl). 2016;23(2):163–75.

    Google Scholar 

  77. Egan LC, Santos LR, Bloom P. The origins of cognitive dissonance: evidence from children and monkeys. Psychol Sci. 2007;18(11):978–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  78. Polonsky M, Azbel L, Wickersham JA, Taxman FS, Grishaev E, Dvoryak S, et al. Challenges to implementing opioid substitution therapy in Ukrainian prisons: personnel attitudes toward addiction, treatment, and people with HIV/AIDS. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015;148:47–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by grants R01 DA029910 (Altice), R01 DA033679 (Altice), and R36 DA042643 (Morozova) from NIDA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia Rozanova.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rozanova, J., Morozova, O., Azbel, L. et al. Perceptions of Health-Related Community Reentry Challenges among Incarcerated Drug Users in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. J Urban Health 95, 508–522 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0256-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0256-4

Keywords

Navigation