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The use of services for alcohol problems: general practitioner and specialist alcohol clinic
Author(s) -
THOM BETSY,
BROWN CHERYL,
DRUMMOND COLIN,
EDWARDS GRIFFITH,
MULLAN MICHAEL
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1992.tb01963.x
Subject(s) - attendance , medicine , general practice , family medicine , service (business) , nursing , economy , economics , economic growth
A sample of 40 patients referred to a specialist alcohol clinic were given a full assessment by a clinician and then randomly allocated to one of two groups. The first group received continuing care from the clinic. The second group were returned to the management of their general practitioners who were offered specialist support in caring for their patients. Patients and general practitioners were followed‐up 6 months after the clinic assessment. This paper reports on the uptake of clinic and general practice services by patients and examines the possible factors associated with continuing attendance, including patient attributes, service activity, patients' self‐assessments of their drink problem and their expectations of help from services. Qualitative data is used to examine patients' perceptions and experiences of clinic and general practice‐based care for drinking problems. The findings highlight some of the difficulties reported by patients in receiving help for their problems particularly from general practitioners.