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

Emma Black; Raimondo Bruno; Kristie Mammen; Llewellyn Mills; Krista J. Siefried; Rachel M. Deacon; Anthony Shakeshaft; Adrian J. Dunlop; Nadine Ezard; Mark Montebello; Steven Childs; David Reid; Jennifer Holmes; Nicholas Lintzeris

doi:10.5694/mja2.52039

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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

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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

Emma Black, Raimondo Bruno, Kristie Mammen, Llewellyn Mills, Krista J. Siefried, Rachel M. Deacon, Anthony Shakeshaft, Adrian J. Dunlop, Nadine Ezard, Mark Montebello, …

Medical Journal of Australia, Vol.219(5), pp.218-226

2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52039

PMID: 37449648

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Abstract

Addiction

Alcohol-related disorders

Amphetamine-related disorders

Drug misuse

Health services research

Marijuana abuse

Opioid-related disorders

eHealth

Objective: To 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. Design: Baseline 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, participants: People 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 measures: Socio-demographic characteristics, and substance use and self-rated health (psychological, physical, quality of life) during preceding 28 days, by principal drug of concern. Results: Of 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%). Conclusions: The 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.

Details

Title: 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
Authors: Emma Black (Corresponding Author) - The University of Sydney
Raimondo Bruno - University of Tasmania
Kristie Mammen - South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
Llewellyn Mills - The University of Sydney
Krista J. Siefried - UNSW Sydney
Rachel M. Deacon - The University of Sydney
Anthony Shakeshaft - The University of Queensland
Adrian J. Dunlop - The University of Newcastle Research Associates
Nadine Ezard - UNSW Sydney
Mark Montebello - The University of Sydney
Steven Childs - New South Wales Department of Health
David Reid - New South Wales Department of Health
Jennifer Holmes - New South Wales Department of Health
Nicholas Lintzeris - The University of Sydney
Publication details: Medical Journal of Australia, Vol.219(5), pp.218-226
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Date published: 2023
DOI: 10.5694/mja2.52039
ISSN: 1326-5377
PMID: 37449648
Copyright note: © 2023 The Authors. Medical Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AMPCo Pty Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Grant note: The study was funded by the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) and the South-East Sydney Local Health District.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991242161702621
Output Type: Journal article

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