Barriers to treatment for alcohol dependence: a qualitative study
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MEETING ABSTRACT Open Access Barriers to treatment for alcohol dependence: a qualitative study Sven Andréasson * , Sara Wallhed Finn, Ann-Sofie Bakshi From International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol and Other Drugs (INEBRIA) Meeting 2013 Rome, Italy. 18-20 September 2013 Approximately half of all people with high alcohol con- sumption in Sweden fulfill criteria for either harmful con- sumption or dependence. Among the alcohol-dependent, the majority have dependence with low severity. They are also reluctant to seek treatment. This qualitative study, with data from seven focus group discussions and 14 indi- vidual interviews, aims to describe and explain how repre- sentations of alcohol consumption, dependence, and treatment create barriers to treatment. Thirty-two adults from the general population fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence participated. Most of the participants agreed that they were heavy drinkers but did not perceive themselves as alcohol dependent. Having alcohol pro- blems, as well as realizing the need for and entering treat- ment, was associated with shame and stigma, producing a strong barrier to treatment. The participants’ knowledge about treatment was limited and somewhat faulty, as they thought that treatment mainly involves medication with disulfiram, lifelong abstinence, and inpatient care at reha- bilitation clinics. As these treatments are socially restric- tive and stigmatizing, this understanding created a barrier to treatment. While treatment for alcohol problems in pri- mary care was seen as less stigmatizing, the expertise among general practitioners in this field was questioned. Results indicate that, to lower the threshold for treatment seeking, treatment services need to better match the needs and wishes of the potential service users as well as take stigmatization into account. Primary care practices and general practitioners need to market their ability to treat people with drinking problems. The clinical understanding of alcohol dependence needs to be expanded to include mild to moderate dependence, conditions which can be managed in primary care. Published: 4 September 2013 doi:10.1186/1940-0640-8-S1-A5 Cite this article as: Andréasson et al.: Barriers to treatment for alcohol dependence: a qualitative study. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2013 8(Suppl 1):A5. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer review • No space constraints or color figure charges • Immediate publication on acceptance • Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar • Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit * Correspondence: [email protected] Karolinska Institute, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden Andréasson et al. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2013, 8(Suppl 1):A5 http://www.ascpjournal.org/content/8/S1/A5 © 2013 Andréasson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transcript of Barriers to treatment for alcohol dependence: a qualitative study
MEETING ABSTRACT Open Access
Barriers to treatment for alcohol dependence:a qualitative studySven Andréasson*, Sara Wallhed Finn, Ann-Sofie Bakshi
From International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol and Other Drugs (INEBRIA) Meeting 2013Rome, Italy. 18-20 September 2013
Approximately half of all people with high alcohol con-sumption in Sweden fulfill criteria for either harmful con-sumption or dependence. Among the alcohol-dependent,the majority have dependence with low severity. They arealso reluctant to seek treatment. This qualitative study,with data from seven focus group discussions and 14 indi-vidual interviews, aims to describe and explain how repre-sentations of alcohol consumption, dependence, andtreatment create barriers to treatment. Thirty-two adultsfrom the general population fulfilling DSM-IV criteria foralcohol dependence participated. Most of the participantsagreed that they were heavy drinkers but did not perceivethemselves as alcohol dependent. Having alcohol pro-blems, as well as realizing the need for and entering treat-ment, was associated with shame and stigma, producing astrong barrier to treatment. The participants’ knowledgeabout treatment was limited and somewhat faulty, as theythought that treatment mainly involves medication withdisulfiram, lifelong abstinence, and inpatient care at reha-bilitation clinics. As these treatments are socially restric-tive and stigmatizing, this understanding created a barrierto treatment. While treatment for alcohol problems in pri-mary care was seen as less stigmatizing, the expertiseamong general practitioners in this field was questioned.Results indicate that, to lower the threshold for treatmentseeking, treatment services need to better match the needsand wishes of the potential service users as well as takestigmatization into account. Primary care practices andgeneral practitioners need to market their ability to treatpeople with drinking problems. The clinical understandingof alcohol dependence needs to be expanded to includemild to moderate dependence, conditions which can bemanaged in primary care.
Published: 4 September 2013
doi:10.1186/1940-0640-8-S1-A5Cite this article as: Andréasson et al.: Barriers to treatment for alcoholdependence: a qualitative study. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 20138(Suppl 1):A5.
Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Centraland take full advantage of:
• Convenient online submission
• Thorough peer review
• No space constraints or color figure charges
• Immediate publication on acceptance
• Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar
• Research which is freely available for redistribution
Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit
* Correspondence: [email protected] Institute, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm,Sweden
Andréasson et al. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2013, 8(Suppl 1):A5http://www.ascpjournal.org/content/8/S1/A5
© 2013 Andréasson et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, andreproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
