Ways of (Un-)Being and Ways of (Un-)Belonging in the Transnational
Opioid Field of Ukrainian Forced Migrants in Poland
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2
Jagiellonian University
3
Cracow University of Economics
Submission date: 2026-01-15
Acceptance date: 2026-08-26
Publication date: 2026-09-29
Polish Sociological Review 2026;235(3):371-390
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This study examines how Ukrainians living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and/or using
opioids access care after their forcible displacement to Poland following Russia’s invasion of their country.
Drawing on 37 qualitative interviews with health care providers, NGO workers, and displaced Ukrainians, we
analyze how forced migration reshapes practices and identities within a transnational field of opioid use and HIV
care. Using Levitt and Schiller’s framework of transnational social fields, we focus on “ways of being” and “ways
of belonging” to understand the everyday practices of accessing care and the identity work required for it. Our
findings reveal that displacement often disrupts established treatment and support routines, resulting in a sense
of “un-being” when familiar strategies become ineffective or risky. Simultaneously, the analysis illuminates the
dynamics of “un-belonging” demonstrating how the institutional identities required to negotiate specialized care
intersect with systemic stigma, moral judgment, and the anticipation of sanctions. These processes are shaped by
the interaction between Poland’s fragmented, semi-peripheral harm reduction regime and the prior experiences of
migrants within Ukraine’s strongly donor-driven care system. We argue that understanding access to care requires
attention to the transnational circulation of practices, identities, and stigma. We also highlight the need for more
responsive, culturally informed harm reduction services in receiving countries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We express our deepest gratitude to all the individuals who participated in this study. We are
profoundly grateful to the displaced Ukrainians who so generously shared their time, personal
narratives, and lived experiences during an immensely challenging period of forced migration. We
also extend our sincere thanks to the specialized health care professionals, NGO staff, and frontline
service providers who contributed their expertise and time to this research.