Psychosocial Review of Drug Substance Use among Transgender In Penang, Malaysia
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Abstract
This qualitative study was conducted in Penang, Malaysia with the aim to analyze and gather in-depth understanding of challenges faced by transgender who used drugs. This study also aimed to understand some of the psychosocial support eceived by this marginal population in terms of overcoming their substance useehaviour. Eighteen respondents between the ages of 18 and 40 years were selected through the snowballing sampling technique due to the difficulty of getting the targeted respondents. The study found that all of the 18 respondents who participated in this study, only 4 respondents have used cannabis and methamphetamine ecstasy over a period of 12 months prior to the present study. The rest of the respondents in this study doesn’t involved with drugs. This study suggests that both government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should continue to provide appropriate HIV and AIDS intervention the transgender population. Social work intervention primarily in educating this marginal population towards the prevention of HIV transmission especially preventing from drugs substance uses which are associated with behaviours that facilitate HIV transmission in their daily life.
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