Research paperHeroin users’ views and experiences of physical activity, sport and exercise
Section snippets
Background
Historically, research has tended to focus on the dangerous and harmful aspects of heroin users’ lives, with very few studies investigating their participation in more wellness-focused physical activities. Exceptions to this include a small number of studies which indicate that drug users, including injectors, do participate in sport and exercise (Drumm et al., 2005, Duterte et al., 2001, Holt and Treloar, 2008, Neale et al., 2007, Plugge et al., in press, Powers et al., 1999) and suggestive
The study and methods
The data presented in this paper are part of a larger qualitative study of recovery from heroin use. This work has been funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), with ethical approval granted by the National Research Ethics Service. We here draw upon two stages of that research: i. 40 in-depth interviews conducted with current or ex-heroin users (21 men and 19 women) and ii. follow-up interviews conducted 3 months later with 37 of the initial 40 participants (20 men and 17
Physical activity, sport and exercise biographies
To begin, we consider our study participants’ personal histories of physical activity, sport and exercise. Significantly, nearly half of those interviewed (males and females) reported that they had routinely participated in sport and exercise when they were children or teenagers. Moreover, many of them had taken their sporting endeavours very seriously. The kinds of activities they engaged in were varied, but included fairly typical youthful and school-based pastimes, such as athletics,
Discussion
Our paper has set out to explore the extent to which current and ex-heroin users participate, want to participate and encounter problems when trying to participate in physical activity, sport and exercise. As with any study, there are limitations. In particular, we are reliant on the self-reports of a relatively small number of individuals who were all starting treatment or had recently become opioid free in the South of England in 2009. From these data, we cannot quantify exactly how much
Conclusions
Findings from our study indicate that male and female heroin users are interested in physical activity, sport and exercise, and will be physically active whenever they can. Despite this, they frequently encounter personal, social and structural barriers which can hinder their participation. From this we conclude that there is an important role for physical activity, sport and exercise programmes within policy and practice responses to heroin use. However, this is likely to work best if goals
Acknowledgements
The Everyday Lives Study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (Grant Number RES-062-23-1016: A sociological investigation into the everyday lives of recovering heroin users). The authors wish to thank the ESRC; all of the research participants; staff from all services who assisted with recruitment; and two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments on an earlier draught.
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