Professionals' Perspectives on Substance Use among Refugees in Shared Accommodations: A Qualitative Study.

This article examines hazardous substance use among refugees living in shared accommodations in Germany, highlighting the increased vulnerability due to traumatic flight experiences and challenging living conditions. Based on qualitative interviews with five professionals working in refugee aid, the study identifies risk factors at individual (micro), interpersonal (meso), and structural (macro) levels, including stress, lack of perspective, language barriers, and prolonged asylum processes. The professionals emphasize the need for culturally sensitive, low-threshold prevention and addiction aid programs tailored to newly arrived refugees, improved interdisciplinary cooperation, and political engagement to address legal and systemic barriers. The findings underscore the importance of early prevention, multilingual information, peer involvement, and accelerated asylum procedures to mitigate hazardous substance use in this population.