<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Places where people deal and/or use drugs publicly are known as open drug scenes (ODSs). Drug-related community impacts (DRCIs) refer to drug-related issues that negatively influence public and individual health, communities, businesses, and recreational and public space enjoyment. There are no well-established criteria for identification of DRCIs. We therefore performed a scoping review of literature to determine DRCIs indicators associated with ODSs. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScP). We searched English articles in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases from 1990 to 2021. The keywords were drug-related crime, drug-related offense, misconduct, social marginalization, homeless drug users, open drug scene, drug-related street disorder, public nuisance, and community impact. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Sixty-four studies were identified. Twenty-five studies were included. Two studies (8%) were about drug-related public nuisance, 1 (4%) considered drug-related social problems, 2 (8%) focused on drug-related social disorder, and 18 studies (72%) discussed indicators of community impacts such as crime, drug-related litter, safety, noise, and drug use in public. Two studies (8%) included the frequency of drug use in ODSs. <b><i>Discussion:</i></b> DRCI indicators are heterogenic, and various factors affect the indicators. The factors include social mores, political discourse, and historical approaches to dealing with and using drugs. Some societies do not tolerate the existence of ODSs. In contrast, many countries have adopted harm reduction programs to manage DRCIs. Identified DRCI indicators were drug using and dealing in public, drug-related litter, crime, drug-related loitering, street-based income generation activities, noise, and unsafety feelings in inhabitants. To solve the problems associated with DRCIs and to make a major change in ODSs, it is necessary to pay attention to the improvement of the economic conditions (e.g., employment opportunities), amendment (e.g., determine the limits of criminalization in drug use), and adoption of social policies (e.g., providing low-threshold and supportive services for homeless drug users).

Objectives: This study aims to assess the implementation of drug-related harm reduction programs in Iranian prisons and suggest solutions for their improvement. Methods: This study was conducted in three steps. First, library method was used for collecting data from the central library of Iran’s Prisons, Security and Corrective Measures Organization. In the second step, performance indicators were extracted based on the results of first step and two researcher-made checklists were designed. Finally, a field visit and a semi-structured interview with the authorities involved in the treatment and harm reduction services were carried out. Results: In most of prisons, drug-related harm reduction programs were underway. Despite a lack of human resources and budget at the beginning, the quality of measures was gradually increased and the attitude of authorities was improved. Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Triangular Clinics were the most common harm reduction programs, in addition to HIV and tuberculosis screening programs in collaboration with medical sciences universities. The program continued despite the change of officials. Conclusion: Harm reduction programs are able to reduce infection diseases, self-harm and violent behaviors in prisons of Iran. Cultural programs along with other harm reduction programs, briefings and seeking support from the authorities can greatly help with continuation of the programs in prisons. By eliminating the shortage of manpower and redefining the security areas for ordinary prisoners, it will be possible to make better use of the facilities of universities and research centers.

Background and objectivesMany low-income and middle-income countries experience problems with open drug scenes and drug-related community issues (DRCIs). These experiences occur in settings with varying levels of health and law enforcement initiatives, and accordingly a range of approaches are implemented to curb the problem. Most of the published literature stems from Western and high-income societies. With this concern, the present study aims to describe a planned project to explore DRCIs in the open drug scenes of Tehran, including its typology, and predisposing and reinforcing factors. In addition, the study attempts to investigate the perceptions with respect to the required interventions and barriers to their accessibility.MethodsTo this end, the current study focuses on the Farahzad drug scene due to its structure and the difficult access to the scene by harm reduction providers. Data collection techniques encompass field observation, indepth interview and focus group discussion. Further, semistructured interviews are conducted with people who use drugs and other key informants who are engaged at this drug scene, including business, community, voluntary and statutory stakeholders, for an average of 90 min (average of 45 min for each part of the study). Furthermore, as a complementary method, field observation is performed regarding the themes of DRCIs at this scene. Then, focus group discussions are held to further describe the themes of DRCIs as well as to explore the required interventions, for an average of 90 min. Finally, the results are evaluated using qualitative content analysis.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Additionally, participants are to provide written informed consent. The findings of the study are expected to play a role in promoting the current intervention.

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Background: A fundamental question in addiction tendency is which factors propel people toward substance use. Various studies found that unsafe fields of interest are a criterion for the adoption of substance use and addicts are people with unsafe development in various areas that propel them toward substance use. Objectives:The aim of this study was to model, assay, and plan a model to reveal the structural relations between psychological factors, including parenting, novelty seeking, problem behavior, and coping strategies, for addiction potential.Patients and Methods: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the relationship between parenting styles and addiction potential with mediator variables, namely novelty, coping strategies, and behavioral problems, among 572 high school students (328 male, 244 female), randomly selected in Mashhad, Iran. Data were collected using the parenting style questionnaire, temperament, and character inventory, the Achenbach youth self-report scale, the coping inventory for stressful situations, and the Iranian addiction potential scale (IAPS). AMOS-16 software was applied for evaluating the proposed model. The final model, achieved after deleting non-significant paths and the co-varying of some errors, has favorable fitness indexes (CFI = .90, RMSEA = .07). Results:The study found significant relationships between parenting styles and addiction potential with mediator variables, although the most of the purposed paths between permissive parenting style and other variables were not significant. Conclusions:According to standard coefficients, emotion-oriented, problem-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping strategies, as well as behavior problems, respectively, have the largest effect on addiction potential.