2025
A Study Into the HIV/AIDS Knowledge of Social Workers and Social Work Students in Kyrgyzstan and Their Attitudes Towards People Living with HIV
The level of HIV awareness among social workers in Kyrgyzstan is still low, which negatively impacts on the quality of the services they provide. The study examines the knowledge of social workers and social work students about HIV, attitudes towards people living with HIV, and willingness to provide social services. The study used an HIV knowledge survey (n=314). The percentage of correct answers to knowledge questions was 70.3% among social workers and 64.5% among students. Only 50.1% of students and 40% of social workers are willing to provide services. The study found that the participants lacked adequate knowledge about HIV.
2025
Invisible and Ignored: Women and Drugs in Central Asia
Katarzyna Kinga Kowalczyk,
Larissa Steimle,
Meryem Grabski
The book sheds light on the often invisible realities of women who use drugs or live with HIV in Central Asia. These realities and the resulting needs are frequently overlooked or ignored in both aca...
2024
New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in Uzbekistan: Motives and Psychosocial Needs among Youth
The emergence and popularity of NPS, such as mephedrone, and alpha-pvp, among young people in Uzbekistan are growing due to their availability through Internet platforms and interest in new trendy substances among peers, as well as the desire to have fun and get high. There is no reliable information about the number of users, their motivation to use NPS, as well as the psychological and social assistance they need.
2024
Opioid Agonist Maintenance Treatment in Kyrgyzstan: Assessing Patients’ Changing Medical and Psychosocial Needs Over the Course of Treatment
Zhyldyz Bakirova,
Ulla Pape,
Ingo Ilja Michels
The opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT) programme in Kyrgyzstan has two objectives: to provide drug treatment and to prevent HIV infections among people who inject drugs (PWID). This study ex...
2024
Five Years of SOLID Project
SOLID – short for Social Work and strengthening NGOs in development cooperation to treat drug addiction” – is an international research project funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) f...
2024
Behind Bars: Understanding Prisoner Perception of Penitentiary Rehabilitation in Kazakhstan
Dalida Mukasheva,
Nurlan Tulkinbayev,
Mariya Prilutskaya,
Dinara Yessimova,
Heino Stöver
This study focuses on identifying factors that, from the perspective of prisoners, contribute to positive perceptions of rehabilitation (correction) in prison. A survey was conducted of 645 soon-to-b...
2024
Characterological Features and Behavioral Patterns of Youth Using NPS (Mephedrone, Alpha-PVP, Spice, Psychoactive Substances in Tablet Form)
New psychoactive substances (NPS), with frequently changing chemical formulas, have become a challenge
since the mid-20th century worldwide and pose a threat due to their use and associated health complications. The cost, legal
status, and accessibility through various internet channels have contributed to the rapid spread of NPS. Objective: To
identify the patterns of NPS use among youth in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
2024
HIV and Hepatitis C in Central Asia and China: Understanding Vulnerabilities and Social Work Responses
In 2015, the United Nations Member States adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. The SDGs are a global development framework consisting of seventeen interrelated goals, designed to serve as (...)
2023
Virtual Digital Psychotherapist App–Based Treatment in Patients With Methamphetamine Use Disorder (Echo-APP): Single-Arm Pilot Feasibility and Efficacy Study
Tianzhen Chen,
Liyu Chen,
Shuo Li,
Jiang Du,
Hang Su,
Haifeng Jiang,
Qianying Wu,
Lei Zhang,
Jiayi Bao,
Min Zhao
Substance use disorder is one of the severe public health problems worldwide. Inequitable resources, discrimination, and physical distances limit patients’ access to medical help. Automated conversat...
2023
Social Work and Health in Prisons: Studies from Central Asia and China
This publication deals with the development of social work and health in prisons in Central Asia and China. The focus on social work in prison might seem odd at first sight. The topic is difficult, as the relations between social work services for people in prison and the management of penal institutions are fraught with tension and conflict.