Farrell, Eimear (2001) Women, children and drug use. In: A collection of papers on drugs issues in Ireland. Dublin: Health Research Board. pp. 153-177.
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This chapter presents a review of the Irish literature on women, children and drug use. Analysis of the National Drug Treatment Reporting System, which provides statistics on treated drug misuse, indicates that 30% of drug users presenting for treatment were female. Other sources of data used were a study of drug users attending a Dublin needle exchange programme and Department of Health and Children statistics on incidence of HIV, which provided epidemiological and health information. Two surveys of the prison population suggest that opiate use is a serious problem among women in the Irish prison system. The available research literature on opiate addiction and pregnancy and on the issue of how children are affected by parental drug dependence in Ireland is reviewed. The author argues that the available indicators all suggest that female drug users have particular needs that require to be taken into account in service planning and provision, and that more research effort is needed into the issues surrounding drug use by Irish women. She found that research in the area has focused almost exclusively on pregnant opiate addicts. Consequently, there is a lack of information on how drug use affects women in general and how parental drug use impacts on children.
VA Geographic area > Europe > Ireland
T Demographic characteristics > Woman (women / female)
L Social psychology and related concepts > Family > Family and kinship > Family relations > Parent – child relations
T Demographic characteristics > Child / children
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