Developing the Guideline of Therapeutic Interventions for Street Children With Substance Use Disorders

Abstract

Millions of children are left to survive on the streets around the world. Investigations on drug use disorders among street children reveal that they not only abuse all types of drugs higher than their peers who live at home or in shelters, but also they abuse more harmful drugs such as injection drugs or methamphetamines. This guideline provides a comprehensive approach to the treatment and management of substance use disorders among children of 3 to 18 years of age for the staff of substance use disorder clinics. It highlights examples of how to perceive and approach the management and issues of substance abuse among street children at an early stage of development through various medical, psycho-social, and other interventions. It also defines the characteristics of the street children with a focus on prevention. These provisions consist of addressing the applicability matters in this area and necessity of a decision model in our country.

Keywords

• Therapeutic interventions
• Street children
• Substance use disorders