Missed opportunity for alcohol use disorder screening and management in primary health care facilities in northern rural Tanzania: a cross-sectional survey
Open accessAbstract
Objective: The study aimed to identify the missed opportunity for detection and management of alcohol use disorder by primary health care workers. Design: A cross-sectional survey Setting: Outpatient services in the six governmental primary health care facilities in Moshi district council in Tanzania. Participants: A total of 1604 adults were screened for alcohol use disorder (AUD) using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Participants scoring 8 or above then provided details about their help-seeking behavior and barriers to seeking care. Participants’ records were reviewed to assess the screening and management of AUD. Results: In the last 12 months, 60.7% reported alcohol use, and heavy episodic drinking (HED) was reported by 37.3%. AUD (AUDIT ≥ 8) was present in 23.9%. Males were more likely to have HED (aPR = 1.43;95% CI:1.3 to 1.4) or AUD (aPR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.9 to 4.2). Both HED and AUD increased with age. Only one participant (0.3%) had documented AUD screening and management. Only 5% of participants screening positive for AUD had sought help. Reasons for not seeking care were thinking that the problem would get better by itself (55.0%), wanting to handle the problem alone (42.0%), or not being bothered by the problem (40.0%). Conclusion: While reported alcohol use, HED, and AUD are common among patients presenting to primary healthcare facilities in northern Tanzania, help-seeking behavior and detection are very low. Not screening for AUD in primary health care is a missed opportunity for early detection and management. There is an urgent need to develop interventions to increase the detection of AUD by health care providers, while also addressing help-seeking behavior and barriers to seeking care.
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References 68 · Cited by 32
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [72]National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Care Services; Committee on Health Care Utilization and Adults with Disabilities. Health-Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2018 Mar 1. 2, Factors That Affect Health-Care Utilization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500097/ 29782136
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- Authors
- Mushi, D., Moshiro, C., Hanlon, C., Francis, J. M., & Teferra, S.
- Affiliations
- Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (TZ)
- Addis Ababa University (ET)
- Corresponding author
- Mushi, Dorothy
- Venue
- Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
- Published
- 2022-07-06
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 50-50
- ISSN
- 1747-597X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9258127
- OpenAlex
- W4283827335
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 5.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Substance Abuse Treatment Prevention and Policy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (222154, 222154/Z/20/Z)
- Government of the United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (16/136/54, NIHR200842)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Keywords
- alcoholism, primary care, help-seeking, barriers to care, binge drinking, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, rural Tanzania, Moshi District
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholism, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Male, Primary Health Care, Tanzania
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