Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol

Reports of substance use in Zimbabwe paint a concerning picture of escalating prevalence of use, with over half of people admitted to inpatient mental health units reportedly experiencing a substance induced disorder. The country has gone through decades of significant political and socio-economical...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Blessing N. Marandure, Samson Mhizha, Amanda Wilson, Clement Nhunzvi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9997907/?tool=EBI
_version_ 1811154354930974720
author Blessing N. Marandure
Samson Mhizha
Amanda Wilson
Clement Nhunzvi
author_facet Blessing N. Marandure
Samson Mhizha
Amanda Wilson
Clement Nhunzvi
author_sort Blessing N. Marandure
collection DOAJ
description Reports of substance use in Zimbabwe paint a concerning picture of escalating prevalence of use, with over half of people admitted to inpatient mental health units reportedly experiencing a substance induced disorder. The country has gone through decades of significant political and socio-economical challenges, which are undoubtedly linked to the observed increases in substances use. Nevertheless, despite the resource constraints to adequately address substance use, the government has shown a renewed resolve to provide a comprehensive approach to address substance use in the country. However, there is a lack of clarity of the nature and extent of substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs), which in part is due to a lack of a national monitoring system for substance use in the country. Moreover, reports of a substance use crisis in Zimbabwe are predominantly based on anecdotal evidence, limiting the ability to gain an accurate picture of the situation. Therefore, a scoping review of the primary empirical evidence of substance use and SUDs is proposed in order to develop an adequately informed understanding of the nature of substance use and SUDs in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the review will embed an assessment of the response to substance use, together with an analysis of the policy landscape on substance use in Zimbabwe. The PRISMA-ScR checklist will be utilised for the write up. The results of the scoping review will be essential for identifying the current state of knowledge around substance use, and identify gaps in knowledge and policy that would be a catalyst for further work to enhance knowledge and develop solutions situated within the local context. Thus the present work presents a timely effort that capitalises on current efforts by the government to address substance use in the country.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T04:14:15Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d2cb44db2d4746ff93f4b028d218b17f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-10T04:14:15Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-d2cb44db2d4746ff93f4b028d218b17f2023-03-12T05:32:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01183Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocolBlessing N. MarandureSamson MhizhaAmanda WilsonClement NhunzviReports of substance use in Zimbabwe paint a concerning picture of escalating prevalence of use, with over half of people admitted to inpatient mental health units reportedly experiencing a substance induced disorder. The country has gone through decades of significant political and socio-economical challenges, which are undoubtedly linked to the observed increases in substances use. Nevertheless, despite the resource constraints to adequately address substance use, the government has shown a renewed resolve to provide a comprehensive approach to address substance use in the country. However, there is a lack of clarity of the nature and extent of substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs), which in part is due to a lack of a national monitoring system for substance use in the country. Moreover, reports of a substance use crisis in Zimbabwe are predominantly based on anecdotal evidence, limiting the ability to gain an accurate picture of the situation. Therefore, a scoping review of the primary empirical evidence of substance use and SUDs is proposed in order to develop an adequately informed understanding of the nature of substance use and SUDs in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, the review will embed an assessment of the response to substance use, together with an analysis of the policy landscape on substance use in Zimbabwe. The PRISMA-ScR checklist will be utilised for the write up. The results of the scoping review will be essential for identifying the current state of knowledge around substance use, and identify gaps in knowledge and policy that would be a catalyst for further work to enhance knowledge and develop solutions situated within the local context. Thus the present work presents a timely effort that capitalises on current efforts by the government to address substance use in the country.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9997907/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Blessing N. Marandure
Samson Mhizha
Amanda Wilson
Clement Nhunzvi
Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol
PLoS ONE
title Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol
title_full Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol
title_fullStr Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol
title_short Understanding the nature of substance use in Zimbabwe: State of the art and ways forward: A scoping review protocol
title_sort understanding the nature of substance use in zimbabwe state of the art and ways forward a scoping review protocol
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9997907/?tool=EBI
work_keys_str_mv AT blessingnmarandure understandingthenatureofsubstanceuseinzimbabwestateoftheartandwaysforwardascopingreviewprotocol
AT samsonmhizha understandingthenatureofsubstanceuseinzimbabwestateoftheartandwaysforwardascopingreviewprotocol
AT amandawilson understandingthenatureofsubstanceuseinzimbabwestateoftheartandwaysforwardascopingreviewprotocol
AT clementnhunzvi understandingthenatureofsubstanceuseinzimbabwestateoftheartandwaysforwardascopingreviewprotocol