Substance abuse among inner-city Hispanic women: exploring resiliency

Abstract

Objective: To identify factors that prevent drug abuse among young Hispanic women living in inner cities and to acquire ideas for preventive strategies.

Design: Qualitative interviews of focus group participants to explore perceptions about drug use.

Setting: An urban location adjacent to a neighborhood health clinic.

Participants: Twenty-four young Hispanic women recruited from an inner-city prenatal clinic.

Main outcome measures: Identification of themes that trigger or deter drug use. Acquisition of preliminary knowledge required for further development of data collection instruments and design of interventions for use with inner-city Hispanic women.

Results: Identified six themes through qualitative data analysis of interview narratives.

Conclusions: Compared themes with existing theoretical models and described implications for nursing practice.