Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans

Background: There are racial disparities in the use of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services in South Africa but little is known about the factors contributing to these disparities. This study aimed to redress this gap through identifying differences in barriers to AOD treatment use among...

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Main Author: Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: BIOMED CENTRAL LTD 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85600
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author Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn
author_facet Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn
author_sort Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: There are racial disparities in the use of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services in South Africa but little is known about the factors contributing to these disparities. This study aimed to redress this gap through identifying differences in barriers to AOD treatment use among Black African and Coloured persons from Cape Town, South Africa. The Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization was used as an analytic framework. Methods. A case-control design was used to compare 434 individuals with AOD problems who had accessed treatment with 555 controls who had not accessed treatment on a range of variables. Logistic regression procedures were employed to examine the unique profile of variables associated with treatment utilization for Black African and Coloured participants. Results: After controlling for the influence of treatment need and predisposing factors on treatment use, several barriers to treatment were identified. Greater awareness of treatment options and fewer geographic access and affordability barriers were strongly associated with an increased likelihood of AOD treatment use for both race groups. However, Black African persons were more vulnerable to the effects of awareness and geographic access barriers on treatment use. Stigma consciousness was only associated with AOD treatment utilization for Coloured participants. Conclusion: Differences in barriers to AOD treatment use were found among Black African and Coloured South Africans. Targeted interventions that address the unique profile of barriers experienced by each race group are needed to improve AOD treatment use by these underserved groups. Several strategies for improving the likelihood of treatment entry are suggested. © 2013 Myers; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-856002021-10-06T05:16:58Z Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Health Care Sciences & Services Alcohol and other drug treatment Racial disparities Barriers to treatment South Africa HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES SUBSTANCE-ABUSE HEALTH-CARE CAPE-TOWN ACCESS MOTIVATION DISORDERS SERVICES STIGMA Background: There are racial disparities in the use of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services in South Africa but little is known about the factors contributing to these disparities. This study aimed to redress this gap through identifying differences in barriers to AOD treatment use among Black African and Coloured persons from Cape Town, South Africa. The Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization was used as an analytic framework. Methods. A case-control design was used to compare 434 individuals with AOD problems who had accessed treatment with 555 controls who had not accessed treatment on a range of variables. Logistic regression procedures were employed to examine the unique profile of variables associated with treatment utilization for Black African and Coloured participants. Results: After controlling for the influence of treatment need and predisposing factors on treatment use, several barriers to treatment were identified. Greater awareness of treatment options and fewer geographic access and affordability barriers were strongly associated with an increased likelihood of AOD treatment use for both race groups. However, Black African persons were more vulnerable to the effects of awareness and geographic access barriers on treatment use. Stigma consciousness was only associated with AOD treatment utilization for Coloured participants. Conclusion: Differences in barriers to AOD treatment use were found among Black African and Coloured South Africans. Targeted interventions that address the unique profile of barriers experienced by each race group are needed to improve AOD treatment use by these underserved groups. Several strategies for improving the likelihood of treatment entry are suggested. © 2013 Myers; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85600 10.1186/1472-6963-13-177 English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 BIOMED CENTRAL LTD fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Health Care Sciences & Services
Alcohol and other drug treatment
Racial disparities
Barriers to treatment
South Africa
HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
SUBSTANCE-ABUSE
HEALTH-CARE
CAPE-TOWN
ACCESS
MOTIVATION
DISORDERS
SERVICES
STIGMA
Myers-Franchi, Bronwyn
Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans
title Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans
title_full Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans
title_fullStr Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans
title_full_unstemmed Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans
title_short Barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among Black African and Coloured South Africans
title_sort barriers to alcohol and other drug treatment use among black african and coloured south africans
topic Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Health Care Sciences & Services
Alcohol and other drug treatment
Racial disparities
Barriers to treatment
South Africa
HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
SUBSTANCE-ABUSE
HEALTH-CARE
CAPE-TOWN
ACCESS
MOTIVATION
DISORDERS
SERVICES
STIGMA
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85600