Correlates of duration between initial drug use and first drug injection among people who inject drugs in Iran, 2020
The transition to injection drug use among PWID in Iran often occurs within a decade of initial drug use and is influenced by demographic, social, and psychological factors. Prevention strategies should focus on early intervention for at-risk youth, address mental health needs, and leverage peer influence. Policymakers should prioritize evidence-based, multi-faceted approaches that target both individual and structural factors to delay or prevent the transition to injection drug use and reduce associated health risks.
Authors
- Zahra Abdolahinia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1307-1057)
- Ali Karamoozian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1677-2852)
- Fatemeh Tavakoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0409-7626)
- Mohammad Mehdi Gooya
- Mohammad Karamouzian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5631-4469)
- Mehrdad Khezri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9712-6221)
- Soheil Mehmandoost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6915-249X)
- Ali Akbar Haghdoost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4628-4849)
- Nima Ghalekhani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8524-8811)
- Mostafa Shokoohi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3810-752X)
- Ghazal Mousavian
- Hamid Pour Sharifi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9008-7618)
- Zahra Jaafari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2702-039X)
- Samaneh Akbarpour
- Ali Mirzazadeh
Institutions
- St. Michael's Hospital (CA)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Kerman University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Ministry of Health and Medical Education (IR)
- Public Health Ontario (CA)
- Global Brain Health Institute (US)
- New York University (US)
- Tehran University of Medical Sciences (IR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Public Health
- Published
- 2025-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22357-4
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.35