Addictive behaviors
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Addictive behaviors · Aug 2011
Alcohol and drug use among patients presenting to an inner-city emergency department: a latent class analysis.
The inner city Emergency Department (ED) provides a window of opportunity for screening for alcohol and other drug misuse and substance use disorders (SUDs), in order to facilitate linkage for individuals who are in need of services targeting such issues. The majority of prior work in this area has focused on alcohol use. This study used latent class analyses to characterize substance use/SUDs among adults presenting to the ED for medical complaints or injuries. ⋯ African-Americans were most likely to be in classes 3 or 4 and employed participants were most likely to be in class 2. In comparison to class 1, classes 2 and 3 reported better physical health; class 2 was more likely to present for injury whereas class 5 was more likely to present for a medical complaint. ED-based screening and interventions approaches need to address the co-occurrence of alcohol, illicit drug, and psychoactive prescription drug use.
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Addictive behaviors · Jul 2011
Providing accurate safety information may increase a smoker's willingness to use nicotine replacement therapy as part of a quit attempt.
Previous studies have reported that smokers who are misinformed about the safety of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) are less likely to report using it. In this study, we examined whether providing information that counters these concerns might impact on intentions to use NRT. ⋯ These data suggest that while a sizeable proportion of smokers are still misinformed about the safety of NRT, misinformed smokers would increase consideration of NRT if these misperceptions are addressed by corrective information.
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Addictive behaviors · Jun 2011
Modifications of evidence-based practices in community-based addiction treatment organizations: a qualitative research study.
This qualitative research effort explored implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in 100 community-based addiction treatment organizations (CBOs) nationwide. The study describes CBO program director attitudes on: (1) satisfaction with EBPs they were mandated to implement; (2) the extent to which their organization modified the EBPs; (3) reasons for modifications; and, (4) the standards they used for modifications. ⋯ Given the addiction treatment field's lack of standards for modifying EBPs, it is not surprising that little consistency occurred in modification efforts. As government funders of addiction treatments require that CBOs implement EBPs, standards need to be created for modifying and adapting the EBPs while maintaining their fidelity.
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Addictive behaviors · Apr 2011
Characterizing binge drinking among U.S. military Veterans receiving a brief alcohol intervention.
Brief web-based alcohol interventions (BAIs) are effective for reducing binge drinking in college students and civilian adults, and are increasingly being applied to U.S. military populations. However, little is known about factors associated with binge drinking in Veteran populations and therefore some concern remains on the generalizability of studies supporting BAIs for addressing binge drinking in this population. This study sought to better understand the characteristics (e.g., demographic, coping related mental health factors, prior exposure to traumatic events, and factors assessing motivation to change alcohol use) of a predominantly male sample of binge drinking Veterans receiving a BAI from a VA provider. ⋯ BAIs may be a promising approach for addressing binge drinking in Veterans. However, binge drinking among a sample of mostly male Veterans receiving a BAI may be associated with a complex set of factors that are less prevalent in the college student population and thus studies demonstrating the efficacy of BAIs with Veterans are needed.
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Addictive behaviors · Jan 2011
Tobacco use and nicotine dependence among HIV-infected and uninfected injection drug users.
Urban U.S. populations are burdened by intersecting epidemics of HIV infection, injection drug use, and cigarette smoking. Given the substantial morbidity attributable to tobacco in these populations, we characterized smoking behaviors, nicotine addiction, and tobacco exposure among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected injection drug users (IDUs) in Baltimore, Maryland. ⋯ Tobacco use is extremely common among inner-city IDUs. Smoking behavior and nicotine dependence did not materially differ by HIV status but were associated with active drug injection. Cessation efforts should target the dual dependence of cigarettes and drugs experienced among this population.