Abstract
The study analyzed health professionals' conceptions toward female users of crack and powder cocaine currently receiving psychosocial care, based on a gender perspective. Seventeen health professionals were interviewed, and systematic observations were made of the spaces for collective care in a Center for Psychosocial Care specializing in alcohol and drug addiction in Greater Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Analysis of the interviews and field diaries using the hermeneutic-dialectic method revealed three categories: frailty as a constitutive attribute of women's condition, the women's emotional addiction to crack and powder cocaine use, and gender stereotypes during psychosocial care. The health professionals voiced a traditional view of the heterosexual, docile, and maternal woman and reproduced stereotypical concepts when addressing female crack and cocaine users as sensitive, frail individuals, emotionally dependent on men and more involved in the home and family. These professionals need a more refined understanding of gender issues in the mental health-disease process in order to allow overcoming preconceived notions and reductionist health care practices.
Highlights
IntroductionIn 2012, an estimated 162 to 324 million people 15 to 64 years of age had consumed some illegal drug at least once in their lives, representing 3.5% to 7% of the world population
Illegal drug consumption impacts drug users’ lives and health
The female crack and cocaine users in this study were interpreted by health professionals based on the hegemonic notions of women’s social roles and attributes, even though the majority of these health professionals were women
Summary
In 2012, an estimated 162 to 324 million people 15 to 64 years of age had consumed some illegal drug at least once in their lives, representing 3.5% to 7% of the world population. In the Americas, Brazilian data show an increase in drug use, and the country has become the largest cocaine consumption market in South America, in addition to serving as a prime traffic route, given its strategic geographic position for moving the drug to the large consumer markets in North America and Europe 1. The Second National Survey on Alcohol and Drugs in 2012 estimated the prevalence of lifetime powder cocaine use in the overall Brazilian population at 3.9%. The prevalence of Brazilians that had used powder cocaine at least once in the previous year was 1.7%. For smoked cocaine (crack), the rates were 1.5% and 0.8% for those who had consumed crack at least once in their lives and at least once in the previous year, respectively 2
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