Community involvement facilitating the discussion of alcohol use in primary care: A nominal group study

Abstract

Background Hazardous alcohol use significantly affects health and wellbeing in society. General practitioners (GPs) are uniquely positioned to address this problem by integrating early identification and brief intervention (EIBI) in daily practice. Unfortunately, EIBI implementation remains low. Community-oriented strategies (COS), defined as public health activities directed to the general population, are suggested to address this implementation gap. COS aim to increase the understanding, engagement and empowerment within the population to facilitate EIBI delivery. However, no consensus on what COS should contain exists. Objectives To obtain insight in the stakeholders’ perspectives and create consensus with them on COS with the highest potential to facilitate EIBI delivery. Methods Four nominal group sessions were conducted with 31 stakeholders representing 12 different stakeholder groups from Leuven (Belgium). Stakeholders generated ideas, reflected on them in group and prioritised them anonymously, creating four separate lists. Merging these lists with their relative scores resulted in a master list, which was checked for accuracy through a member check. Qualitative content analysis on the stakeholder’s notes provided an in-depth exploration of their perspectives. Results Twenty-one strategies were identified, nine of which were COS. Highlighting the GPs’ proactive role was considered most relevant. Other foci included creating awareness on the effects of alcohol use and normalising discussing alcohol use within the community. A holistic approach, exceeding the sole focus on COS, combining community, healthcare and government was accentuated. Conclusion Stakeholders emphasise addressing the proactive role of GPs as most promising COS, though it should be delivered within a holistic multi-component approach.

Primary care implementation study to scale up early identification and brief intervention and reduce alcohol-related negative outcomes at the community level (PINO): study protocol for a quasi-experimental 3-arm study

“…Neighbourhood-mediated actions Neighbourhood-mediated actions will be organised to address the community's need to initiate the discussion on alcohol outside the clinical setting [35]. The content of these actions will be customised to the neighbourhood's needs and concerns and presented by local community champions.…”

“…The aim of this mass media campaign is trifold [35]. First, it will address individuals' behaviour towards alcohol use by increasing knowledge on alcoholrelated harms and by creating awareness one's alcohol consumption.…”