Young Adult Ecstasy Users Who Forego Necessary Medical Care: A Fairly Common Occurrence with Important Health Implications (Report‪)‬

Seeking and receiving appropriate, effective, and prompt medical care/attention when one becomes ill is one of the most important ways of maintaining good health and preventing acute health problems from worsening and developing into chronic conditions. For a variety of reasons, however, many persons fail to seek and/or receive the medical care that they need when it is most urgent for them. For example, financial constraints preclude many persons from getting the medical attention they need because they cannot afford (or think that they cannot afford) the costs associated with a physician's visit, medical treatment, follow-up care, prescribed medications, and so forth (Chevarley et al. 2006; Fletcher, Higginbotham & Dobson 2002). Fear of what a doctor may discover upon examination and the performance of routine medical tests also plays a role in many persons' decisions to forego necessary medical care (Forrester-Anderson 2005; Schein et al. 2003). Other studies have cited embarrassment over one's health behaviors and/or one's appearance as key factors in the decision to not seek medical care when required (Consedine, Krivoshekova & Harris 2007; De Nooijer, Lechner & De Vries 2001). Moreover, when people perceive the chances to be great that they will be discriminated against by members of the medical establishment, they are less likely to seek care during times of need (O'Brien et al. 2006; Van Houtven et al. 2005). Whatever the reason(s) underlying the decision not to receive needed medical attention, this inaction is one that is likely to have serious consequences for many people. Drug users may not seek necessary medical care because they fear being identified as drug abusers (Wilkinson et al. 2007; Kidder, Elifson & Sterk 2001). The failure to seek care may be especially problematic among drug users because many of these individuals already have diminished health as a result of their substance use/abuse (Adrian, Van Truong & Osazuwa 2007; Falck, Wang & Carlson 2007). Regarding MDMA (or Ecstasy) use, which is the focus of the present research, a variety of adverse health consequences have been linked with recurrent use of the drug. Included among these are sleep disorders (Montoya et al. 2002), mood disorders (Montoya et al. 2002; Verheyden, Henry & Curran 2003), dermatologic problems (Wollina et al. 1998), memory problems (Daumann et al. 2005), and brain deficits and neuronal damage (Reneman et al. 2001). Ecstasy users' failure to receive necessary medical care represents a major concern.