Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics
Introduction: Screening for unhealthy alcohol and drug use is recommended in primary care, and effective implementation requires understanding patients’ perspectives. Failure to identify and address potential differences in attitudes toward screening across demographic groups may result in care gaps...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251364034 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849338868793344000 |
|---|---|
| author | Madeline C. Frost Jennifer McNeely Noa Appleton Sarah Farkas Sarah E. Wakeman Timothy E. Wilens Joseph Kannry Bethany McLeman Noah Nesin Richard N. Rosenthal Carmen Rosa Aimee Wahle Seth Pitts Emily C. Williams Leah Hamilton |
| author_facet | Madeline C. Frost Jennifer McNeely Noa Appleton Sarah Farkas Sarah E. Wakeman Timothy E. Wilens Joseph Kannry Bethany McLeman Noah Nesin Richard N. Rosenthal Carmen Rosa Aimee Wahle Seth Pitts Emily C. Williams Leah Hamilton |
| author_sort | Madeline C. Frost |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Screening for unhealthy alcohol and drug use is recommended in primary care, and effective implementation requires understanding patients’ perspectives. Failure to identify and address potential differences in attitudes toward screening across demographic groups may result in care gaps, but research examining this is limited. Methods: We surveyed 977 adult patients in 9 primary care clinics that participated in a screening implementation study. The survey collected demographics and attitudes toward screening/discussion of alcohol/drug use in primary care. We described responses overall and compared across age, gender, race, and ethnicity using Chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests. Results: Mean age was 51.1 years, and the sample was 39% male, 61% female, 72% White non-Hispanic, 11% Hispanic, 10% Black non-Hispanic, and 6% other/unknown race non-Hispanic. Most participants across all demographic groups reported supportive attitudes. Comfort reporting drug use was lower among young, male, Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic patients, and comfort with screening overall was lower among middle-aged, Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic patients. Conclusions: Results suggest that screening/discussion of alcohol/drug use in primary care is generally highly acceptable to patients across demographic groups. Strategies are needed to increase comfort and alleviate concerns about how medical information will be used, particularly among middle-aged, Black, and Hispanic patients. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d01966e2c8294f868821318d7d6c7ddd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2150-1327 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-d01966e2c8294f868821318d7d6c7ddd2025-08-20T03:44:17ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Primary Care & Community Health2150-13272025-08-011610.1177/21501319251364034Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic CharacteristicsMadeline C. Frost0Jennifer McNeely1Noa Appleton2Sarah Farkas3Sarah E. Wakeman4Timothy E. Wilens5Joseph Kannry6Bethany McLeman7Noah Nesin8Richard N. Rosenthal9Carmen Rosa10Aimee Wahle11Seth Pitts12Emily C. Williams13Leah Hamilton14Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA, USADepartment of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USADepartment of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USADepartment of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USADepartment of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USADivision of General Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USACenter for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USAPenobscot Community Health Care, Bangor, ME, USARenaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USANational Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda, MD, USAThe Emmes Company, Rockville, MD, USAThe Emmes Company, Rockville, MD, USADepartment of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA, USAKaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USAIntroduction: Screening for unhealthy alcohol and drug use is recommended in primary care, and effective implementation requires understanding patients’ perspectives. Failure to identify and address potential differences in attitudes toward screening across demographic groups may result in care gaps, but research examining this is limited. Methods: We surveyed 977 adult patients in 9 primary care clinics that participated in a screening implementation study. The survey collected demographics and attitudes toward screening/discussion of alcohol/drug use in primary care. We described responses overall and compared across age, gender, race, and ethnicity using Chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests. Results: Mean age was 51.1 years, and the sample was 39% male, 61% female, 72% White non-Hispanic, 11% Hispanic, 10% Black non-Hispanic, and 6% other/unknown race non-Hispanic. Most participants across all demographic groups reported supportive attitudes. Comfort reporting drug use was lower among young, male, Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic patients, and comfort with screening overall was lower among middle-aged, Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic patients. Conclusions: Results suggest that screening/discussion of alcohol/drug use in primary care is generally highly acceptable to patients across demographic groups. Strategies are needed to increase comfort and alleviate concerns about how medical information will be used, particularly among middle-aged, Black, and Hispanic patients.https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251364034 |
| spellingShingle | Madeline C. Frost Jennifer McNeely Noa Appleton Sarah Farkas Sarah E. Wakeman Timothy E. Wilens Joseph Kannry Bethany McLeman Noah Nesin Richard N. Rosenthal Carmen Rosa Aimee Wahle Seth Pitts Emily C. Williams Leah Hamilton Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| title | Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics |
| title_full | Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics |
| title_fullStr | Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics |
| title_short | Patient Attitudes Toward Substance Use Screening and Discussion in Primary Care: Comparison Across Demographic Characteristics |
| title_sort | patient attitudes toward substance use screening and discussion in primary care comparison across demographic characteristics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319251364034 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT madelinecfrost patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT jennifermcneely patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT noaappleton patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT sarahfarkas patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT sarahewakeman patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT timothyewilens patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT josephkannry patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT bethanymcleman patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT noahnesin patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT richardnrosenthal patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT carmenrosa patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT aimeewahle patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT sethpitts patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT emilycwilliams patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics AT leahhamilton patientattitudestowardsubstanceusescreeninganddiscussioninprimarycarecomparisonacrossdemographiccharacteristics |