Harm reduction among strength training practitioners who consume steroids

Abstract

This research analyzes the critical processes for harm reduction among steroid users, in the context of gyms in the Metropolitan region of Goiânia, Goiás, and the study subjects were selected by using the Snowball technique. Content analysis was performed from the transcription of fifteen interviews, and the exploration of the produced material led to the construction of four categories a posteriori. Actions – such as individual risk management, by self-experimentation to assess the quality of the product and self-medication in the form of post-cycle therapies for example – were observed and, at the same time, processes that provide health protection, especially those related to networks of support and to the favorable socioeconomic position of the participants in this study. Structuring proactive, continuous, and integrated harm reduction actions that respond to the health needs of those who consume steroids is considered important, as well as implementing strategies that overcome both the war on drugs approach and the pragmatic and individual only approach to risk management.