“There’s a big tag on my head”: exploring barriers to treatment seeking with women who use methamphetamine in Sydney, Australia

Clifford, Brendan; Gordon, Kate Van; Magee, Fiona; Malone, Victoria; Siefried, Krista J; Graham, Duncan; Ezard, Nadine

doi:10.1186/s12913-023-09125-z

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similar results have been found in other studies, in which the main barriers among women meth users in Australia are individual stigma, intrapersonal violence, and institutional stigma ( Clifford et al, 2023 ). On the other hand, it has been reported that users who perceive their meth use as non-problematic face more barriers than those who perceive it as problematic ( Quinn et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Barriers to methamphetamine treatment seeking in residential centers in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Martínez Martínez,

Ojeda Aguilar,

Robles Villarreal

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionIn the Aguascalientes, most people who seek treatment go to non-governmental residential centers, and about half request treatment for meth use. Although some barriers to treatment seeking among these users are known, few studies have been conducted with the Mexican population, specifically with users of residential centers. The aim of this study was to explore the main barriers reported by these patients, the relationship between reported barriers and meth use, as well as identify possible user profiles based on the barriers and the pattern of consumption.MethodsWe designed a brief survey that evaluated sociodemographic data, consumption pattern, help-seeking for consumption and use of services, barriers in the search for services, depression, and suicide attempts. Here, we report the results of barriers and consumption patterns. The study sample consisted of 865 individuals receiving treatment for meth use in 23 certified residential centers.ResultsPatients reported an average of 2.12 barriers, the main ones being not considering the services useful for them (41.6%), not considering it important to attend (35%), and not finding time to attend the consultation (29.8%). We found a statistically significant relationship, although weak, between the number of barriers reported by participants and the age of onset of meth use, dangerous perception of meth use, attempts to quit, and the number of problems associated with use. We used a cluster analysis that was performed using the k-means machine learning algorithm, which revealed two clusters. The first was formed by patients who started using meth at a young age which has more problems associated with meth use and more barriers in seeking services, while the other was formed by patients who started at an older age which have fewer problems and fewer barriers. We found statistical differences between groups, where it was found that young group reported consuming more substances, more problems associated, and more barriers in seeking services.DiscussionsThis study revealed the main barriers to seeking treatment among patients in residential centers and found that the age of onset of meth use is a risk factor for presenting more barriers and more problems associated with consumption.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Barriers to methamphetamine treatment seeking in residential centers in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Martínez Martínez,

Ojeda Aguilar,

Robles Villarreal

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Consistent with previously published NSW and national data, 9 we found that most people commencing treatment for alcohol, amphetamine‐type stimulants, cannabis, opioids, or cocaine use were male (9373, 66.5%), aged 20–39 years (7846, 50.4%), and were born in Australia (10 934, 86.7%). One‐third of people commencing treatment were female, consistent with the fact that 34% of Australians aged 16–85 years with 12‐month substance use disorders during 2020–21 were girls or women, 20 although barriers to treatment access for women have been described 21,22 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…One-third of people commencing treatment were female, consistent with the fact that 34% of Australians aged 16-85 years with 12-month substance use disorders during 2020-21 were girls or women, 20 although barriers to treatment access for women have been described. 21,22 Alcohol was the principal drug of concern for 43% of people seeking treatment included in our analysis (by comparison: NSW, 38%; Australia, 36% of people receiving alcohol and other drug treatment 9 ). The mean age of people commencing treatment for alcohol use (44 years) was consistent with reports of substantial delays in seeking treatment in Australia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substance use, socio‐demographic characteristics, and self‐rated health of people seeking alcohol and other drug treatment in New South Wales: baseline findings from a cohort study

Black

Bruno

Mammen

et al. 2023

Medical Journal of Australia

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveTo investigate the demographic characteristics, substance use, and self‐rated health of people entering treatment in New South Wales public health services for alcohol, amphetamine‐type stimulants, cannabis, cocaine, or opioids use, by principal drug of concern.DesignBaseline findings of a cohort study; analysis of data in patient electronic medical records and NSW minimum data set for drug and alcohol treatment services.Setting, participantsPeople completing initial Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile (ATOP) assessments on entry to publicly funded alcohol and other drug treatment services in six NSW local health districts/networks, 1 July 2016 – 30 June 2019.Main outcome measuresSocio‐demographic characteristics, and substance use and self‐rated health (psychological, physical, quality of life) during preceding 28 days, by principal drug of concern.ResultsOf 14 087 people included in our analysis, the principal drug of concern was alcohol for 6051 people (43%), opioids for 3158 (22%), amphetamine‐type stimulants for 2534 (18%), cannabis for 2098 (15%), and cocaine for 246 (2%). Most people commencing treatment were male (9373, 66.5%), aged 20–39 years (7846, 50.4%), and were born in Australia (10 934, 86.7%). Polysubstance use was frequently reported, particularly by people for whom opioids or amphetamine‐type stimulants were the principal drugs of concern. Large proportions used tobacco daily (53–82%, by principal drug of concern group) and reported poor psychological health (47–59%), poor physical health (32–44%), or poor quality of life (43–52%).ConclusionsThe prevalence of social disadvantage and poor health is high among people seeking assistance with alcohol, amphetamine‐type stimulants, cannabis, cocaine, or opioids use problems. Given the differences in these characteristics by principal drug of concern, health services should collect comprehensive patient information during assessment to facilitate more holistic, tailored, and person‐centred care.

show abstract

“…Furthermore, globally, only one in five women access AOD treatment despite comprising one in three individuals with SUD (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015). As an example, in Australia, although half of regular methamphetamine users are women, they make up only a third of those seeking treatment (Clifford et al, 2023). Finally, women's perspectives on their substance-use experiences and preferences for residential AOD treatment are rarely included in the literature (Schamp et al, 2021;Shahram et al, 2017).…”

Section: Qualitative Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scoping review of Aotearoa New Zealand women's experiences of substance use, alcohol and drug services

Jackson,

Chubb,

De Haan

2023

ANZSWJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

INTRODUCTION: The experiences with healthcare services of women who use substances (WWUS)—especially when pregnant or parenting—are largely missing from research in Aotearoa. This scoping review was conducted to inform doctoral research on a new, integrated parenting and substance-use residential-treatment facility in Auckland: Te Whare Taonga. APPROACH: Two objectives of the review were to: 1) collate insights from experiences of women who use substances; and 2) synthesise strengths and weaknesses within current healthcare and alcohol or other drug (AOD) services to understand what works to support WWUS, particularly those who are pregnant or parenting. Peer-reviewed studies, grey literature, and theses published between 1992–2022 exploring the perspectives and views of WWUS and their experiences of substance use, healthcare services, and AOD-treatment providers in Aotearoa New Zealand, were scoped in multiple databases. FINDINGS: The review evidenced a need for gender-specific or gender-sensitive services that are non-stigmatising, accessible to pregnant or parenting women, and culturally appropriate. Holistic care tailored to individual need was considered important. Barriers to treatment included stigma, wait times, negative experiences of healthcare workers, and a lack of appropriate services to meet women’s needs. CONCLUSIONS: There is a lack of AOD services available to WWUS, and, subsequently, research is limited. However, the findings provide an understanding of how healthcare and treatment providers, social workers, whānau (extended family, family group, can include friends with no kinship ties), community, and funders can provide informed and empathetic support to WWUS, including those who are pregnant and parenting.

show abstract

“There’s a big tag on my head”: exploring barriers to treatment seeking with women who use methamphetamine in Sydney, Australia

Cited by 6 publications

References 53 publications

Barriers to methamphetamine treatment seeking in residential centers in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Barriers to methamphetamine treatment seeking in residential centers in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Substance use, socio‐demographic characteristics, and self‐rated health of people seeking alcohol and other drug treatment in New South Wales: baseline findings from a cohort study

A scoping review of Aotearoa New Zealand women's experiences of substance use, alcohol and drug services

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About