Issue addressed: Aboriginal males who use drug and alcohol may experience unique barriers accessing primary health care. This study explores the perceptions of Aboriginal males in treatment for drug and alcohol use around their experiences accessing primary health care, and barriers to access.Methods: Twenty male Aboriginal clients at a fee-paying residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre completed semi-structured interviews about their primary health care experiences before their stay. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to inductively develop themes.Results: About half the males had regular General Practitioners at a mainstream primary health care service or Aboriginal Medical Service. Positive experiences included having medical needs met or understanding the health information provided; and negative experiences included inefficient health service or system processes or experiencing cultural bias or racism. Barriers included limited access to appointments or to the same GP regularly, long wait times, lack of access to transport, worry or fear about their health or the visit or their complex lives taking priority. Conclusion:This research showed that the participants sought out health care and identified barriers to accessing care and potential improvements.So what?: Access to a regular General Practitioner, continuity of care and culturally appropriate and comprehensive communication techniques are important to facilitate access to primary health care by Aboriginal males. Efforts to enhance access may focus on inherent strengths within Aboriginal communities including focusing on relationships between clinicians and families, providing a welcoming environment and encouraging clients to bring a trusted family member to appointments.
Background Primary healthcare (PHC) services are crucial in supporting people who use substances. The aims of this study were to explore the experiences of Aboriginal males in NSW in treatment for substance use about speaking about their substance use with PHC staff, and their preferences for accessing PHC about their substance use. Methods Semi-structured interviews with residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment service clients. Thematic analysis was used to develop themes inductively and deductively. Two interviews were independently double coded by an Aboriginal researcher and the project was supported by an Aboriginal Advisory Group. Results Twenty male adults who self-identified as Aboriginal participated (mean age 27 years). Half reported visiting PHC and talking about their substance use before their residential service stay. Two major themes developed: (1) speaking up about substance use or mental health problems linked with substance use, (2) ways to improve access to PHC about substance use. Although some males were offered treatment, some were not, and others had concerns about the treatments offered. Conclusion This research highlights opportunities to improve access and to better support Aboriginal males who use substances in PHC. Focus on culturally appropriate PHC and providing staff with training around substance use and treatment options may improve access. It is important to foster culturally appropriate services, develop PHC staff knowledge around substance use, focus on therapeutic relationships and have a range of treatment options available that can be tailored to individual circumstances.
Introduction: There is a common perception that Anesthesiologists experience a high degree of stress & may be at risk of burnout (1,2). Substance abuse & suicide also have been associated with the profession (1). Sleep deprivation is associated with compromised patient & provider safety (3). Anesthesia residents may be particularly prone to stress and strain outcomes because of their intense training, compounded by a lack of experience, knowledge, and control. To date, no study has examined the perceived stress and health of Canadian Anesthesia residents and the factors that mitigate this stress. We (a) examined the health behaviours and levels of stress and burnout experienced by residents in Canadian Anesthesia training programs; (b) compared the differences in stress and health among the program years; and (c) compared these stress and burnout levels to other occupations. Methods: With institutional REB approval & permission from all Program Directors, residents registered for 2007/8 in all 16 Anesthesia programs were invited to participate in an anonymous web-based survey. Participants reported on personal & work-related background information, degree of job control, work hassles, overload, conflict, & ambiguity, coping strategies, level of support (program, coworkers, spouse, & family), general health, work-life conflict, burnout, and work satisfaction. Results: Of 619 residents, 241 (38%) responded. 65% were married or in a common-law relationship (30% with another physician) and 24.6% had at least one child. Residents worked on average 65 hours/week & 5 calls/month. Regarding well-being, very few residents smoke (91.5% nonsmokers), 65% eat a well balanced diet, 60% take some time to relax. More than 1/3 consume caffeine "ALL of the time," & 65% said they consume caffeine fairly often or more. Less than 35% sleep between 7-8 hours/night, and 45.3% frequently skipped meals. Moreover, 68.1% of residents agreed that they feel at least "slightly" stressed at work, and 23.4% have thought about leaving their program. Comparing trends across years of training, senior residents tend to engage in a more unhealthy lifestyle (r=-.22, p<.001), use more maladaptive coping methods (r=.17, p<.01), report more confidence in their training (r = .22, p<.05), feel that less help is available from staff supervisor and residency program when they need it (r=-.23,p<.001; r=-.16,p<.05), and are less likely to feel that residency program cares about their opinion, well-being, & satisfaction at work (r's from-.14 to-.28, p<.05). Residents reported significantly more emotional exhaustion and cynicism than nurses and management professionals (t 2.18, p<.05 to 7.71, p<.001). However, residents also reported significantly more professional efficacy than nurses (t(224)= 6.38, p<.05) & psychiatric workers (t(224)=8.73, p<.05). Discussion: These results indicate Anesthesia residents in general are experiencing
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.