Biomedical subjects

A R Henman

Publications and source records attributed to A R Henman.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Doing a shotgun: a drug use practice and its relationship to sexual behaviors and infection risk.

There has been a rise in the frequency with which inhalational routes such as smoking are used for illicit drug use. A growing population of new inhalational drug users augments the pool of individuals at risk for transition to injection drug use. Further, illicit drug smoking has been implicated in the transmission of a variety of pathogens by the respiratory route, and crack smoking has been associated with an increased risk of HIV infection, particularly through the exchange of high-risk sex for drugs. Shotguns are an illicit drug smoking practice in which smoked drugs are exhaled or blown by one user into the mouth of another user. We conducted a series of ethnographic observations to attempt to characterize more fully the practice of shotgunning, the range of associated behaviors, and the settings and contexts in which this practice occurs. Shotguns may be seen as a form of drug use which has close ties to sexual behaviors, and which has both pragmatic and interpersonal motivations, combining in a single phenomenon the potential direct and indirect risk of disease transmission by sexual, blood borne and respiratory routes. These data support the need to develop and evaluate comprehensive risk reduction interventions, which take into consideration the relationships between interpersonal and sexual behaviors and specific forms of drug use.

Administration, Inhalation↗

PubMed1998

Injection drug users as social actors: a stigmatized community's participation in the syringe exchange programmes of New York City.

In 1992, New York State Department of Health regulations provided for fully legal syringe exchange programmes in the state. The policies and procedures mandated that: 'Each program must seek to recruit ... for inclusion on its advisory board ... program participants ... Programs are also urged to establish other advisory bodies, such as Users' Advisory Boards made up of program participants, to provide input and guidance on program policies and operations.' The inclusion of drug users as official advisors to the legal programmes was seen as a method for incorporating the views of the consumers of the service in operational decisions. The 1992 regulations implied a new public image for users of illicit psychoactive drugs: active drug users were seen to be capable not only of self-protective actions (such as avoiding HIV infection), but also of serving as competent collaborators in programmes to preserve the public health. This development has important implications with regard to the evolution of official drug policy, since it will be difficult in future to treat IDUs simply as the passive objects of state intervention. Whether as individuals or representatives of a wider population of illicit drug users, they have acquired a legitimacy and sense of personal worth which would have been unthinkable in previous periods.

Humans↗

PubMed1998

From ideology to logistics: the organizational aspects of syringe exchange in a period of institutional consolidation.

The initial period in the establishment of syringe exchange projects is often characterized by overt conflict: between community AIDS activists, on the one hand, and public officials and political leaders who remain ideologically opposed to the introduction of measures perceived as condoning illicit drug use. In this context, professionals concerned with legitimating the new institutions of syringe exchange may sometimes neglect aspects of their everyday logistics and social organization, obscuring the important choices which have to be made to carry these initiatives forward. In particular, the contrast between formally-constituted institutions-the "storefront" or "community-based" syringe exchange programs (SEPs)-and the model of low-threshold syringe availability through pharmacies, vending machines, and user networks, is here presented not as an either/or choice but rather as a pair of complementary strategies which respond to diverse needs and target different populations. The advantages and disadvantages of each particular approach make it likely that maximum effectiveness will be achieved through a combination of every possible form of needle distribution, each tailored to specific and cultural circumstances. The case is here examined in the light of the experience of the SEPs in New York City, from their clandestine origins in 1990 through their first years of official functioning in 1992-1996.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1986

[Not Available].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Brazil↗

PubMed1982

Guaraná (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis): ecological and social perspectives on an economic plant of the central Amazon basin.

Guaraná is considered an ideal crop for supplementing the incomes of small peasant farmers in the Amazon basin. A fast-growing perennial, guaraná can be planted in the midst of manioc crops, allowing the formation of extensive orchards in the place of regenerating scrub once the manioc has been harvested. Traditional forms of guaraná agriculture practised by the Saterê-Mawé Indians compare favourably with the plantation system favoured by government agronomists. Indigenous techniques of hand-processing guaraná are also shown to produce better quality in the finished product than those practices adopted by industrial concerns. A detailed comparison of two systems of production show the Indians' implicit concern to avoid oxidization of the phenolic compounds in the seed, since this leads to the guaraná becoming dark in colour, bitter in taste, and irritating to the gastrointestinal tract. The short-term medicinal effects of guaraná are commonly thought to result from a high content of caffeine and associated alkaloids, as well as from considerable amounts of tannin. Future research may well show that various saponins also play an important part in the drug's pharmacology, particularly with regard to its long-term influence as a general tonic and prophylactic.

Agriculture↗