An institutional ethnography of prevention and treatment services for substance use disorders in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

The Dominican Republic is thought to have significant epidemics of illicit drug use but lacks surveillance and formal analyses of the policy context of drug prevention and treatment services. We conducted an institutional ethnography of 15 drug service organizations in Santo Domingo and Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, to explore barriers and resources for drug abuse prevention and treatment. Here, we present a typology of drug service organizations based on their services, methods, and approach.We then draw on interviews with representatives of drug service institutions to describe the primary barriers to drug treatment and prevention services for drug users. We conclude with a focus on the policy priorities that could improve the conditions of health care for marginalized drug users in the Dominican Republic.

Carceral citizenship in Latin America and the Caribbean: Exclusion and belonging in the new mass carceral zone

“…This means that in some Latin American countries, drug trafficking is now subject to longer minimum sentences than rape or murder. In the Dominican Republic, to take one extreme example, the possession of even a small amount of heroin residue in a used syringe can constitute legal evidence for drug trafficking, meaning that homeless drug users who are barely involved in drug dealing are routinely incarcerated for decades at a time (Padilla et al, 2020).…”