Abstract
To assess stigma and prejudice in the organization of the Psychosocial Care Network for drug users. this is a qualitative study, developed through Empowerment Assessment. The survey was conducted in a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, with 42 network workers. For data collection, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and open forum were used. For data analysis, thematic analysis was used. the network's mission involved a proposal for care without prejudice and judgments for drug users. It was identified that the composition of the network with training in multidisciplinary residency and psychiatry facilitates achieving the mission, and among the difficulties, the challenges to overcome prejudice were analyzed. Strategies for continuing education, seminars, and user empowerment in the community are suggested. stigma and prejudice need to be problematized in the networks for the organization of more inclusive and rehabilitating psychosocial care.
Highlights
Drug abuse is a complex flagship with challenges for global mental health
Based on the Policy of Comprehensive Care for Users of Alcohol and Other Drugs, presented in 2003, the intention was to reverse the directionality of actions centered on repressive approaches, for a care organization based on the Psychosocial Care Network (RAPS – Rede de Atenção Psicossocial), which characterized by the integration of various services and devices that must establish communication and co-responsibility for care from primary to tertiary care[2]
Considering that RAPS organization must address issues related to the stigma and prejudice experienced by drug users and provide direct, comprehensive answers supported by different network arrangements, this study presents the following research question: how is stigma and is prejudice evaluated in the organization of RAPS for drug users?
Summary
In Brazil, the policy of confronting drugs in its propositions gives rise to the clash between the Brazilian National Anti-Drug Policy, in the scope of public security, which follows the logic of prohibition, and the Policy of Comprehensive Care to Drug Users, guided by the logic of reducing damage. Both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice focus on the theme, resulting in a set of contradictions that mark the ambiguities of this problem in contemporary times[1]. Despite its objectives focused on comprehensive care, RAPS has its implementation strongly challenged by anti-drug guidelines, still based on prohibition and the only negative image of subjects who use drugs, criminalizing its use and promoting a stigmatizing and prejudiced culture in society[3]
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