IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v113y2013i1p319-334.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Acts of Discrimination on Quality of Life Among Injecting Drug Users in Delhi, India

Author

Listed:
  • Enisha Sarin
  • Luke Samson
  • Michael Sweat

Abstract

The study examines the association between quality of life (QOL) and discrimination perpetrated against a vulnerable population like injecting drug users (IDU). Given that QOL affects self efficacy which in turn affects behavior, it is relevant to examine QOL among IDUs in the context of HIV prevention, and to study whether discriminations and human rights abuses impact QOL in this population. A cross sectional study was conducted in two research sites in Delhi, India among 343 IDUs recruited through a respondent driven sampling. A Hindi version of the WHOQOL Bref survey along with a survey questionnaire of discrimination were used to interview participants. After controlling for demographic characteristics, experiencing physical and verbal abuse (OR: 0.46, CI 0.27–0.79),arrests and imprisonment for carrying needles and/or using drugs (OR: 0.53, CI 0.31–0.90) and lacking health information (OR: 0.49, CI 0.29–0.85)was associated with lower social QOL, while being denied health care services was associated with lower psychological QOL. The more discrimination experienced, the lower was the quality of life in the social and psychological domains. Participants’ perceived well being in the four domains was related to their living conditions, discriminatory acts and to perceptions of social support. Discriminatory acts and abuses appeared to have a greater toll on their psychological well being and social relationships, thus indicating the need for human rights advocacy in order to influence law enforcement practices and to reduce stigma, while expanding social support through an extended comprehensive IDU programme. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Enisha Sarin & Luke Samson & Michael Sweat, 2013. "Impact of Acts of Discrimination on Quality of Life Among Injecting Drug Users in Delhi, India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 319-334, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:113:y:2013:i:1:p:319-334
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-012-0095-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11205-012-0095-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-012-0095-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Williams, D.R. & Neighbors, H.W. & Jackson, J.S., 2003. "Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(2), pages 200-208.
    2. Mays, V.M. & Cochran, S.D., 2001. "Mental health correlates of perceived discrimination among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(11), pages 1869-1876.
    3. Ronzani, Telmo Mota & Higgins-Biddle, John & Furtado, Erikson F., 2009. "Stigmatization of alcohol and other drug users by primary care providers in Southeast Brazil," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1080-1084, October.
    4. Rhodes, Tim & Singer, Merrill & Bourgois, Philippe & Friedman, Samuel R. & Strathdee, Steffanie A., 2005. "The social structural production of HIV risk among injecting drug users," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 1026-1044, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bethany G. Everett & Jarron Saint Onge & Stefanie Mollborn, 2016. "Effects of Minority Status and Perceived Discrimination on Mental Health," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(4), pages 445-469, August.
    2. Liat Ayalon, 2018. "Perceived Age Discrimination: A Precipitator or a Consequence of Depressive Symptoms?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(5), pages 860-869.
    3. Johnston, David W. & Lordan, Grace, 2012. "Discrimination makes me sick! An examination of the discrimination–health relationship," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 99-111.
    4. Song, Jieun & Mailick, Marsha R. & Greenberg, Jan S., 2018. "Health of parents of individuals with developmental disorders or mental health problems: Impacts of stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 152-158.
    5. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. McNeill, Lorna Haughton & Kreuter, Matthew W. & Subramanian, S.V., 2006. "Social Environment and Physical activity: A review of concepts and evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 1011-1022, August.
    7. Biradavolu, Monica Rao & Burris, Scott & George, Annie & Jena, Asima & Blankenship, Kim M., 2009. "Can sex workers regulate police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1541-1547, April.
    8. Marycarmen Bustos-Gamiño & Jazmín Mora-Ríos & Jorge Villatoro-Velázquez & Clara Fleiz-Bautista & Alejandro Molina-López & María Elena Medina-Mora, 2022. "Changes in Attitudes toward People with Substance Use Disorder: A Comparative Study of the General Population in Mexico," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-11, July.
    9. Dušan Drbohlav & Dagmar Dzúrová, 2017. "Social Hazards as Manifested Workplace Discrimination and Health (Vietnamese and Ukrainian Female and Male Migrants in Czechia)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Shervin Assari, 2018. "Parental Education Better Helps White than Black Families Escape Poverty: National Survey of Children’s Health," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-14, May.
    11. David Mhlanga & Rufaro Garidzirai, 2020. "The Influence of Racial Differences in the Demand for Healthcare in South Africa: A Case of Public Healthcare," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-10, July.
    12. Pronyk, Paul M. & Harpham, Trudy & Morison, Linda A. & Hargreaves, James R. & Kim, Julia C. & Phetla, Godfrey & Watts, Charlotte H. & Porter, John D., 2008. "Is social capital associated with HIV risk in rural South Africa?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1999-2010, May.
    13. Pamplin, John R. & Bates, Lisa M., 2021. "Evaluating hypothesized explanations for the Black-white depression paradox: A critical review of the extant evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    14. Fujishiro, Kaori & Xu, Jun & Gong, Fang, 2010. "What does "occupation" represent as an indicator of socioeconomic status?: Exploring occupational prestige and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(12), pages 2100-2107, December.
    15. I-Hsuan Lin & Nai-Ying Ko & Yu-Te Huang & Mu-Hong Chen & Wei-Hsin Lu & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2019. "Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Referendums on the Suicidal Ideation Rate among Nonheterosexual People in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-11, September.
    16. Kai Chen & Xiaoping Lin & Han Wang & Yujie Qiang & Jie Kong & Rui Huang & Haining Wang & Hui Liu, 2022. "Visualizing the Knowledge Base and Research Hotspot of Public Health Emergency Management: A Science Mapping Analysis-Based Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-23, June.
    17. Alexis N. Martinez & Lee R. Mobley & Jennifer Lorvick & Scott P. Novak & Andrea M. Lopez & Alex H. Kral, 2014. "Spatial Analysis of HIV Positive Injection Drug Users in San Francisco, 1987 to 2005," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, April.
    18. Sherman, Susan G. & Lilleston, Pamela & Reuben, Jacqueline, 2011. "More than a dance: The production of sexual health risk in the exotic dance clubs in Baltimore, USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 475-481, August.
    19. Dickson-Gomez, Julia & Corbett, A. Michelle & Bodnar, Gloria & Rodriguez, Karla & Guevara, Carmen E., 2010. "Resources and obstacles to developing and implementing a structural intervention to prevent HIV in San Salvador, El Salvador," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 351-359, February.
    20. Wencong Cai & Yuanjie Deng & Qiangqiang Zhang & Haiyu Yang & Xuexi Huo, 2021. "Does Income Inequality Impair Health? Evidence from Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:113:y:2013:i:1:p:319-334. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.