The sociodemographic profile and the challenges associated with treatment and rehabilitation in female heroin users: A case series from Northeast India

Abstract

Females with opioid use disorder (OUD) rarely seek help for addiction. We present a series of seven females with OUD attending a tertiary care addiction treatment setting in Assam between December 2022 to August 2023. Most of the patients were primary-educated, young adults, housewives, from lower to middle socioeconomic strata, and were residents of rural or semi-urban areas. All were married, and around half of them were separated. All the patients were dependent on heroin and tobacco. Five of them initiated heroin use while modeling their spouse. Three patients were injecting heroin, and one was seropositive with both HCV and HIV. Five patients received sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone, and three of them followed up subsequently. Financial difficulty, poor family support, and intimate partner violence were major challenges for treatment-seeking and regular follow-up. This case series highlights the need for systematic study and gender-responsive care of females with OUD in Assam.