Psychiatric co-morbidity and aftercare among alcoholics: a prospective study of a nationwide representative sample

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field AIMS: To study prospectively the type and extent of aftercare sought by patients following their admission for alcohol and other substance abuse treatment as a function of psychiatric co-mo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Addiction
Main Authors: Tomasson, K, Vaglum, P
Other Authors: Department of Psychiatry, National University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Blackwell Publishers 2009
Subjects:
Adult
Aftercare
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholism
Cohort Studies
Comorbidity
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
Middle Aged
Norway
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Patient Compliance
Prospective Studies
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Iceland
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2336/47755
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.93342310.x
Description
Summary:To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field AIMS: To study prospectively the type and extent of aftercare sought by patients following their admission for alcohol and other substance abuse treatment as a function of psychiatric co-morbidity. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with follow-up after 16 months. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A nationwide sample of alcoholics discharged from inpatient treatment (N = 351) in Iceland. MEASUREMENTS: The Diagnostic Interview Schedule was used to assign psychiatric diagnoses at the time of index admission. A questionnaire on the type and number of aftercare attendances was mailed to all participants to obtain information about aftercare. FINDINGS: A combination of attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and professional care was the most common aftercare (49%); while only 8% received no aftercare whatsoever. The mean number of AA attendances was over 24 while it was less than 3 for the various professional appointments. Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia had a lower rate of attendance at AA. Other types of co-morbidity did not affect AA attendance but did increase rates of professional help-seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Better professional treatment attendance might be gained by integrating AA concepts while AA might benefit from professional input to address the prevalent co-morbid psychiatric disorders.

Similar Items