TY - JOUR T1 - <span hwp:id="article-title-1" class="article-title">The experience of injecting drugs in public spaces was characterised by urgency, a need for privacy, hygienic concerns, and a sense of shame</span><span hwp:id="article-title-2" class="sub-article-title">Commentary</span> JF - Evidence Based Nursing JO - Evid Based Nurs SP - 28 LP - 28 DO - 10.1136/ebn.11.1.28 VL - 11 IS - 1 AU - Jennifer Mitton Y1 - 2008/01/01 UR - http://ebn.bmj.com/content/11/1/28.abstract N2 - T RhodesCorrespondence to: Dr T Rhodes, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; tim.rhodes@lshtm.ac.ukWhat is the lived experience of injecting drugs in public places and the social and structural factors that affect access to syringe distribution services?Qualitative study.6 urban, semi-rural, and rural areas in south Wales, UK.A purposive sample of 49 people (age range 18–47 y, 69% men) who were current injecting drug users (had injected drugs in the past 4 wks; mean duration 7.2 y).49 individual semi-structured interviews were held, each lasting 30–90 minutes. Topics included injecting equipment use, access, and availability; injecting locations; and health and service needs and experiences. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed from a perspective of interpretive critical realism.Public injecting. Participants described public injecting as a situational need rather than a choice. Injecting was viewed as a private behaviour, preferably done in non-public environments, which were also associated with cleanliness. Situational factors leading to public injecting were opportunity (“If I’m out, and they say ‘Oh … ER -