Enhancing alcohol screening and brief intervention among people receiving opioid agonist treatment: qualitative study in primary care.

Drugs and Alcohol Today,Volume 16, Issue 4, December 2016. Purpose Problem alcohol use (PAU) is common and associated with considerable adverse outcomes among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). This paper describes a qualitative feasibility assessment of a primary care based complex intervention to promote screening and brief intervention for problem alcohol use, which also aims to examine acceptability and potential effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients and eight General Practitioners (GPs) who had been purposively sampled from practices that had participated in the feasibility study. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Findings Six key themes were identified. While all GPs found the intervention informative and feasible, most considered it challenging to incorporate into practice. Barriers included time constraints, and overlooking and underestimating problem alcohol use among this cohort of patients. However, the intervention was considered potentially deliverable and acceptable in practice. Patients reported that (in the absence of the intervention) their use of alcohol was rarely discussed with their GP, and were reticent to initiate conversations on their alcohol use for fear of having their methadone dose reduced. Research limitations/implications Although a complex intervention to enhance alcohol screening and brief intervention among primary care patien...

Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - October 19, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: research