Health Behaviours Among Users of Drugs: in a Brazilian Sample

This study examines health behaviours among 140 substance misusers from an outpatient department. A cross-sectional study was undertaken at an addiction centre in southern Brazil. Data were collected from a sample population who completed a set of questionnaires about their sociodemographic information, Severity Alcohol Dependence Data, Severity of Dependence Scale, Health Behaviour Questionnaire, and the Addiction Severity Index. For data analysis, Fisher’s exact test, analysis of variance, Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analyses were used. Severe levels of alcohol and drug dependence syndromes were identified. No significant differences were found between the cocaine and crack users, but these differed from the multiple drug user groups, which showed higher scores on the Severity of Dependence Scale and Health Behaviour Questionnaire. The findings also show that the consumption of these substances has a significant influence on the health behaviour of substance misusers and interfere with preventive health behaviours.