The health information behaviors of people who inject drugs: a scoping review of the literature

Purpose The United States of America is in the midst of an opioid crisis. However, little has been written within the domain of LIS (Library and Information Science) about the health information needs and behaviors of people who inject drugs. The purpose of this project is to conduct a scoping review of the current knowledge disseminated by LIS scholars and professionals regarding what information people who inject drugs have access to, need, how they interact with information and what dissemination methods may be most beneficial. Design/methodology/approach A scoping review of the literature was conducted with the additional inclusion criteria that the information needs be expressed from the insider perspective of this population instead of from the researcher. Findings In searching over a dozen databases, only seven articles were found that reflected the information behaviors of people who use drugs from the perspective of themselves. Only one article was from information science, two were from health informatics and one was from health communication, a closely linked field. These findings describe the information behaviors and needs of this population and speak to the need for more comprehensive research in this area in order to create targeted health information resources for this sensitive population. Originality/value There is little research in the domain of information science that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs. Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs. This exploration into the literature on the information behavior of people that inject drugs from the perspective of themselves is unique. Key messages There is very little research that has been conducted into the health information-seeking behaviors of people who inject drugs. Most of the work in this area is from the perspective of the researcher, not the person who injects drugs. Only four such articles were found in the domain of LIS and seven, in total, between all academic domains.