Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Jan 12;13(1):125.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph13010125.

The Use of Illegal Drugs and Infectious Contagious Diseases: Knowledge and Intervention among Dockworkers

Marta Regina Cezar-Vaz  1 , Clarice Alves Bonow  2 , Mara Regina Santos da Silva  3 , Francisca Lucélia Ribeiro de Farias  4 , Marlise Capa Verde de Almeida  5
Affiliations

The Use of Illegal Drugs and Infectious Contagious Diseases: Knowledge and Intervention among Dockworkers

Marta Regina Cezar-Vaz et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study's objective was to analyze the use of illegal drugs by dockworkers and provide risk communication regarding the use of illegal drugs and test for infectious contagious diseases among dockworkers. This cross-sectional study including an intervention addressed to 232 dockworkers, who were individually interviewed, as well as communication of risk with testing for infectious contagious diseases for 93 dockworkers from a city in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Poisson regression analysis was used. Twenty-nine workers reported the use of illegal drugs. Poisson regression indicated that being a wharfage worker, smoker, having a high income, and heavier workload increases the prevalence of the use of illegal drugs. During risk communication, two workers were diagnosed with hepatitis B (2.2%), three (3.2%) with hepatitis C, two (2.2%) with syphilis. None of the workers, though, had HIV. This study provides evidence that can motivate further research on the topic and also lead to treatment of individuals to improve work safety, productivity, and the health of workers.

Keywords: dockworkers; drugs use; occupational health; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scheme of the results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Nelson P.K., Mathers B.M., Cowie B., Hagan H., Jarlais D.D., Horyniak D., Degenhardt L. Global epidemiology of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in people who inject drugs: Results of systematic reviews. Lancet. 2011;378:571–583. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61097-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Peterman T.A., Heffelfinger J.D., Swint E.B., Groseclose S.L. The changing epidemiology of syphilis. Sex. Transm. Dis. 2005;32:4–10. doi: 10.1097/01.olq.0000180455.79024.e9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hyshka E., Strathdee S., Wood E., Kerr T. Needle exchange and the HIV epidemic in Vancouver: Lessons learned from 15 years of research. Int. J. Drug Policy. 2012;23:261–270. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.03.006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abdul-Quader A.S., Feelemyer J., Modi S., Stein E.S., Briceno A., Semaan S., Horvath T., Kennedy G.E., des Jarlais D.C. Effectiveness of structural-level needle/syringe programs to reduce HCV and HIV infection among people who inject drugs: A systematic review. AIDS Behav. 2013;17:2878–2892. doi: 10.1007/s10461-013-0593-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marques P.H., Jesus V., Olea S.A., Vairinhos V., Jacinto C. The effect of alcohol and drug testing at the workplace on individual’s occupational accident risk. Saf. Sci. 2014;68:108–120. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2014.03.007. - DOI

Publication types

MeSH terms