Identification and management of alcohol use and illicit substance use in outpatient psychiatric clinics in Sweden: A national survey conducted among clinic directors and staff

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Anne H Berman, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden)

Version:  View help for Version V1

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20140408-EnkaIt-VaIrdpersonal.sav application/x-spss-sav 670.2 KB 04/12/2017 07:59:AM
20140411-EnkaIt-Enhetschefer.sav application/x-spss-sav 154.1 KB 04/16/2014 05:17:AM

Project Citation: 

Berman, Anne H. Identification and management of alcohol use and illicit substance use in outpatient psychiatric clinics in Sweden: A national survey conducted among clinic directors and staff. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017-04-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E100534V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary  Background: Screening for alcohol and illicit substance use and provision of brief intervention for individuals with hazardous use should be widely offered in health care settings, including primary care, hospital care and psychiatry. Among these populations, the prevalence of problematic substance use is highest among psychiatry patients but it is unknown to what extent screening and brief interventions are offered in Swedish outpatient psychiatric clinics. Methods: Two online surveys on screening for alcohol and illicit substances and provision of brief intervention for hazardous use were constructed, one for psychiatric outpatient clinic directors and one for staff. Directors (n=228; response rate 58%) were asked to forward the staff survey to their employees at the clinics (n=1230; 42% response rate). Results: Clinic directors reported having clear guidelines for consistent screening at intake regarding alcohol (92%) and illicit substance use (88%), while 50% reported having guidelines to use brief intervention (BI) when identifying hazardous alcohol use (42% for illicit substance use). Among staff, 66% reported consistent screening for alcohol use at intake and 58% for illicit substance use, while 34% reported using brief intervention when appropriate for any kind of substance use. Both screening and brief intervention occurred more frequently among staff with training in substance use disorders; staff members in psychosis clinics were less likely to screen for both alcohol and illicit substance use compared to other clinics. Conclusion: Although most clinic directors reported having clear guidelines for staff to screen for substance use at intake, a considerable proportion of staff members in psychiatric outpatient clinics in Sweden do not do so. Training in substance use disorders is associated with use of screening and brief intervention. Efforts should be made to ensure screening is routinely performed in clinics specializing in psychosis.



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V1 [2017-04-12]

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