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Motives behind the work of harm reducers with drug users: a phenomenological study
Zaira Letícia Tisott1, Marlene Gomes Terra2, Leila Mariza Hildebrandt3
1Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Programa de Pós-graduação em Enfermagem, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Objective:
To understand the motives behind the actions of harm reducers when working with drug users.
Method:
Qualitative research conducted in the municipality in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, in May 2017, by means of phenomenological interviews with 17 harm reducers. We analyzed and interpreted the data using the social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz.
Results:
Data analysis led to the following three categories: expectation of changes in the user's sphere of life, motivation at work from the recognition of their actions, and relationship with others as a life-learning experience.
Conclusion:
The reasons harm reducers work with drug users are related to the family, search for a home, employment, access to health care, rights, and stigma, as well as the positive results of their work, personal satisfaction, and learning with drug users.
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