The reasons for sharing needle using and syringe among injection drug users in the city of Ahvaz: A qualitative study

Introduction and goals: The prevalence of HIV and hepatitis among injection drug users (IDUs) who shares needle and syringe is by far more than those who do not share syringe. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explain the reasons of sharing needle and syringe in Ahvaz IDUs. Materials and method: This article is a part of qualitative study which has been performed by the content analysis method and purposeful sampling in drop in center (DIC) of Ahvaz city. 39 semi-structured individual depth interviews and two focus group discussions (FGD) were performed in this study. The subjects were asked by the causes of using shared needle, prison background and stricken by disease. After the first interview, the analyzing of data was started and continues up to data saturation. Result: After coding and analyzing of data, inaccessibility and limitation of provision to sterile syringe, the lack of knowledge about result of sharing needle, disappointment and eagerness to die thought the sharing needle and sharing needle by self-deception were four causes of using sharing syringe. Discussion: According to the increasing in IDU and incidence of STDs disease in IDUs, it seems increasing of harm reduction programs and distributing of sterile syringe with the perform educational program for IDUs and helping them to quit can be useful for the control of addiction.