DUSSK

Feasibility study of an intervention to reduce illicit drug use in female drug dependent street sex workers

Summary

The majority of female street-based sex workers (SSWs) in the UK use drugs such as heroin and/or crack cocaine. Heroin and crack use entrenches involvement in sex work and causes the health and social problems typically seen in this group. Drug-dependent SSWs have difficulties using drug treatment services and when they do typically do not benefit from these services as much as other drug users.

Based on our recent research we have developed a plan to organise NHS and third sector services to work together to improve drug treatment outcomes for SSWs. SSW-only drug treatment groups will be run (by NHS and third sector drug services) in a sex worker only environment (premises of One25, a charity that supports women selling sex on the street) instead of usual drug service premises. SSWs will be screened for post-traumatic stress disorder by specialist NHS mental health services who will provide individual treatment for trauma if identified, a new angle for drug treatment in this group. We will study things like whether SSWs turn up regularly, the effect it has on their drug use and whether they attend for treatment of their trauma. We will also look at how much it costs and whether it appears to be good value for money.

We will be using existing services in a new way and enabling services, clinical and non-clinical as well as NHS and third sector, to work together to produce a patient-focussed care package that should improve treatment outcomes for SSWs.

Publications

Drug Use in Street Sex worKers (DUSSK) study: results of a mixed methods feasibility study of a complex intervention to reduce illicit drug use in drug dependent female sex workers

Protocol

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/11/e022728

Main results paper

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e036491