Can the presence of specialized addiction staff in primary health care increase the number of alcohol-related medical consultations – a controlled intervention study

Q1 Psychology Addictive Behaviors Reports Pub Date : 2024-01-04 DOI:10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100526

Tove Abrahamsson , Ester Magnusdottir , Jonas Berge , Åsa Lundvall , Agneta Öjehagen , Anders Håkansson

{"title":"Can the presence of specialized addiction staff in primary health care increase the number of alcohol-related medical consultations – a controlled intervention study","authors":"Tove Abrahamsson , Ester Magnusdottir , Jonas Berge , Åsa Lundvall , Agneta Öjehagen , Anders Håkansson","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100526","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Few individuals with alcohol use disorders receive treatment. Primary care has been suggested as an arena for early treatment for these disorders.</p></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><p>To evaluate whether the presence of a specialized addiction nurse can increase alcohol-related physician consultations in a primary care setting.</p></div><div><h3>Method</h3><p>This controlled intervention study included one intervention and one control primary care unit in Malmö, Sweden. At the intervention unit, an addiction nurse experienced in alcohol use disorder treatment was present 20 hours weekly for 12 months. At both units, an educational lecture on alcohol use disorders was given at study start. The outcome was physicians’ monthly number of alcohol-related diagnostic codes. Data were compared between intervention and control units using Poisson Regression. Eight statistical models were analyzed and Akaike information criterion was used to select the final model.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The intervention was significantly associated with an increased number of registered alcohol-related diagnostic codes (risk ratio 1.33, 95 confidence interval 1.08-1.62). However, in sensitivity analyses, such a slope effect was more uncertain and no step effect was seen. A significant association was seen between the educational lecture and an increase in the number of registered alcohol-related codes at the sites (risk ratio 2.47, 1.37-4.46).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The presence of specialized addiction staff in a primary healthcare setting might increase the number of alcohol-related physician consultations in primary care, although more research is needed. An educational lecture about alcohol use disorders could be a simple but effective intervention to increase alcohol-related physician consultations in primary care.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853224000038/pdfft?md5=9988e08b79857eda1688a78e72578ec2&pid=1-s2.0-S2352853224000038-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853224000038","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Psychology","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Few individuals with alcohol use disorders receive treatment. Primary care has been suggested as an arena for early treatment for these disorders.

Aim

To evaluate whether the presence of a specialized addiction nurse can increase alcohol-related physician consultations in a primary care setting.

Method

This controlled intervention study included one intervention and one control primary care unit in Malmö, Sweden. At the intervention unit, an addiction nurse experienced in alcohol use disorder treatment was present 20 hours weekly for 12 months. At both units, an educational lecture on alcohol use disorders was given at study start. The outcome was physicians’ monthly number of alcohol-related diagnostic codes. Data were compared between intervention and control units using Poisson Regression. Eight statistical models were analyzed and Akaike information criterion was used to select the final model.

Results

The intervention was significantly associated with an increased number of registered alcohol-related diagnostic codes (risk ratio 1.33, 95 confidence interval 1.08-1.62). However, in sensitivity analyses, such a slope effect was more uncertain and no step effect was seen. A significant association was seen between the educational lecture and an increase in the number of registered alcohol-related codes at the sites (risk ratio 2.47, 1.37-4.46).

Conclusion

The presence of specialized addiction staff in a primary healthcare setting might increase the number of alcohol-related physician consultations in primary care, although more research is needed. An educational lecture about alcohol use disorders could be a simple but effective intervention to increase alcohol-related physician consultations in primary care.

查看原文

微信好友朋友圈 QQ好友复制链接

本刊更多论文

在初级卫生保健机构中配备专门的戒酒工作人员能否增加与酒精有关的就诊人数--一项对照干预研究

背景很少有酒精使用障碍患者接受治疗。方法这项对照干预研究包括瑞典马尔默市的一个干预单位和一个对照单位。在干预科室，一名在酒精使用障碍治疗方面经验丰富的成瘾护士每周工作 20 小时，为期 12 个月。在研究开始时，两个单位都举办了有关酒精使用障碍的教育讲座。研究结果是医生每月与酒精相关的诊断代码数量。采用泊松回归法对干预单位和对照单位的数据进行比较。结果干预与注册酒精相关诊断代码数量的增加有显著相关性（风险比 1.33，95 置信区间 1.08-1.62）。然而，在敏感性分析中，这种斜率效应更加不确定，没有发现阶跃效应。教育讲座与医疗点登记的酒精相关代码数量的增加之间存在明显关联（风险比 2.47，1.37-4.46）。关于酒精使用障碍的教育讲座可能是一种简单而有效的干预措施，可增加初级保健中与酒精相关的医生咨询。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文去求助

来源期刊

Addictive Behaviors Reports Medicine-Psychiatry and Mental Health

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

71 days

期刊介绍： Addictive Behaviors Reports is an open-access and peer reviewed online-only journal offering an interdisciplinary forum for the publication of research in addictive behaviors. The journal accepts submissions that are scientifically sound on all forms of addictive behavior (alcohol, drugs, gambling, Internet, nicotine and technology) with a primary focus on behavioral and psychosocial research. The emphasis of the journal is primarily empirical. That is, sound experimental design combined with valid, reliable assessment and evaluation procedures are a requisite for acceptance. We are particularly interested in ''non-traditional'', innovative and empirically oriented research such as negative/null data papers, replication studies, case reports on novel treatments, and cross-cultural research. Studies that might encourage new lines of inquiry as well as scholarly commentaries on topical issues, systematic reviews, and mini reviews are also very much encouraged. We also welcome multimedia submissions that incorporate video or audio components to better display methodology or findings.