Cargando…

Primary healthcare approach to substance abuse management

Substance abuse is common amongst patients attending primary healthcare settings. Despite the substantial impact on one’s health, substance abuse is often underdiagnosed by primary care providers owing to a lack of training and time for screening. Self-reported screening tools are easy to administer...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Kaswa, Ramprakash
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: AOSIS 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8378164/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34082558
http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/safp.v63i1.5307
Descripción
Sumario:Substance abuse is common amongst patients attending primary healthcare settings. Despite the substantial impact on one’s health, substance abuse is often underdiagnosed by primary care providers owing to a lack of training and time for screening. Self-reported screening tools are easy to administer and efficient to make a substance abuse diagnosis in primary care settings. Comorbid mental illness and intimate partner violence are common amongst patients presenting with substance abuse in primary care. An early diagnosis and a brief behavioural change counselling are effective in managing substance abuse before it develops into dependency. A brief motivational communication rather than a confrontation during substance abuse screening, counselling and treatment is important to achieve optimum patient outcomes.