Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a major public health concern in France, especially because a large proportion of people concerned do not receive medical care for this disorder. While AUD care is available in specialized center, General Practitioners (GP) are in the first line to screen and manage AUD and/or to refer People with Alcohol Use Disorder (PWAUD) to specialized care providers. Alongside that, the most recent French guidelines on alcohol misuse focused on reduced alcohol drinking as a new therapeutic goal and the related availability of two new pharmacological treatments. We conducted a mixed-method study to explore French physicians’ perceptions and practices regarding PWAUD in the context of new national guidelines and treatment options in France. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: We performed both semi-structured interviews (n=14) and a survey among 101 French GP. We used a thematic analysis to explore qualitative data. Concerning quantitative data, a descriptive analysis was performed and we searched factors associated with AUD management. Result: We identified four main themes as pillars of GP practices regarding PWAUD- Baclofen as a driver of renewed interest in AUD care, PWAUD profile diversity, strategies to get around patient denial when screening for AUD and opportunistic screening for AUD. On the 101 respondents, 69.3% (n=70) managed AUD by themselves or helped by AUD specialist, 31.7% (n=32) reported to perform systematically AUD screening and almost half of the participants (47.5%, n=48) thought that abstinence was the only appropriate therapeutic goal for PWAUD. GP who screened AUD systematically were more likely to be favorable to controlled drinking. Conclusion & Significance: GP in France do not perform the brief AUD interventions currently suggested by recommendations. Instead they develop their own tools to screen for and manage AUD. Taking GP experiences and practices into account could be useful to enhance existing guidelines and recommendations. However, providing AUD information and training to GP remains important as our study highlights that AUD screening is not performed systematically in general practice.

Biography

E-mail: mariecosta1212@gmail.com