A major new study will analyse the impact of high rates of drug use in India, and how doctors and charities are treating addition in the continent.
In India opiate use is three times the global average, and 'de-addiction' services are rapidly expanding across the country. Yet very little qualitative information is available on the treatment, experience, or history of 'addiction' in the country.
The study, funded by a Wellcome Early Career award, will be led by Dr Nickolas Surawy Stepney at the University of Exeter and is based at the university's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies.
During fieldwork in northwest India he will examine - through observation and interviews – how healthcare workers in medical settings tackle addictions. This includes 'de-addiction centres' ('nashaa mukti kendr') and a large hospital.
He will also examine archives to trace how addiction has been treated in India in the law and by doctors.
Dr Stepney said: "This project presents a rich opportunity to examine the stakes of de-addiction knowledge, practice, and policy. It will involve observations of doctors, psychiatrists, healthcare professionals and community clinicians and medical services provided by the government and charities.
"I will observe routine clinical work; treatment meetings, consultations and diagnostic work and ask them about everyday clinical practices and responsibilities, understandings and experiences of diagnosing and treating 'addiction'."
Dr Stepney will interview regulators working in two different state governments who work in policy development around addiction or the administration of de-addiction programmes.
All participants in the project will be anonymous.
Professor Maziyar Ghiabi, from the University of Exeter, an expert on addiction in the Middle East, will act as a mentor for this project. This project is also supported by the university's Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health and the South Asia Centre.
