Aims

The project has seven key aims: to identify how much the Turkish-speaking population use the services of drug agencies; to identify levels of awareness of drug services in GP surgeries; to establish the level of drug education aimed at the Turkish, Kurdish and Turkish Cypriot communities; to establish the level of drug education aimed at the wider British population; to identify where drugs are used; to examine the appropriateness of services; and to introduce research skills to members of the Turkish-speaking community.

Methodology

The researchers wrote separate questionnaires for targeted groups including drug users and community organisations. A co-ordinator from the Hackney Drug Action Team [DAT] was approached and asked to approve and support the project; a liaison officer from the DAT subsequently joined the project steering committee. The steering committee oversaw the design and implementation of the project and advised on issues such as access to drug users and drug agencies, the content of questionnaires etc. Target groups were accessed via formal written requests. Two after school sessions were held with Turkish-speaking youth, and 37 questionnaires were received from this group. Drug agencies were harder to involve, and only one questionnaire was received. Six further questionnaires were completed by users of coffee shops that were known for their association with drugs. Clients of community organisations and the users of coffee shops were interviewed to get a wider community input.

Key findings

The researchers found a lack of awareness of problematic drug use within the Turkish-speaking communities, despite an overall belief that drugs are widely available on the streets and in entertainment venues. Drug use is a taboo subject within the community, very little information about drug misuse is available and not enough of this information is translated into Turkish and Kurdish. Few drug users know about the services provided by community organisations; this is also the case for drug agencies. Consequently, service uptake is low. Some community organisations were reluctant to provide services to drug users because they feared that this would put off their non-drug using clients and that they would become a target for drug dealers.

Recommendations

Community organisations should promote a wider knowledge of drug misuse within the Turkish-speaking community. Further, culturally appropriate drug awareness campaigns should be launched in schools and community centres. Drug agencies should employ Turkish and Kurdish-speaking staff, information material should be provided in Turkish and in Kurdish, and there should be more networking between community organisations and drug agencies.