Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate health-related help-seeking behaviour among illegal substance users.
Material and method: Data were collected on the website Rusopplysningen.no. Questions were asked about use of illegal substances and openness with healthcare personnel regarding this use. Only respondents who reported having used illegal substances were included, and missing responses to particular questions were excluded from the percentage calculations.
Results: Altogether 2 485 respondents had used illegal substances. A total of 880 (39 %) had told healthcare/social care personnel about their substance use, of which 506 (68 %) reported that they had no need of help. Altogether 802 (36 %) had avoided telling healthcare/social care personnel about their use of illegal substances in relevant situations, while 309 (14 %) believed that they needed treatment for substance use, and 202 of these (65 %) had avoided or postponed seeking such treatment. Among the 815 who had been in an acute medical situation related to substance use, 82 (10 %) had delayed calling an ambulance, and 330 (41 %) had avoided calling an ambulance altogether. Among these, fear of being reported to the police was the most frequently reported reason (n = 280, 71 %), while 216 (55 %) reported that they had considered an ambulance to be unnecessary.
Interpretation: Many users of illegal substances do not reveal this to healthcare personnel. Some also avoid calling an ambulance in acute substance-related situations. Fear of police sanctions appears to be a plausible contributory factor.