A Community based study on alcohol dependence and treatment seeking behaviour among ever alcoholics in a rural area of Puducherry.
Journal Title: National Journal of Research in Community Medicine - Year 2017, Vol 6, Issue 0
Abstract
Background: Alcoholism is a social evil, alcohol related morbidities and incidents even though significantly alarming, are almost neglected by primary care physicians and policy makers. So, it needs exploration to find nature and effect of dependence and treatment non seeking behavior among them which often leads to disruption of normal socio-economic-physical health. Objectives: To find prevalence of alcohol dependence and to explore the reasons of treatment seeking behavior among ever alcoholics in a rural area of Pondicherry.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 370 adult males aged more than 20 years in a rural area of Pondicherry during July- September 2016. Data were collected by systematic random sampling method. Alcohol dependence was measured using Alcohol dependence Audit scale. In-depth interview was conducted to explore the reasons of treatment seeking behaviour. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Chi-square test was used for analysis. Results: Among 370 total respondents, 229 (61.9%) were ever alcoholic and 56% of them had alcohol related symptoms. Around 7% of the ever-alcoholics have severe dependence. Age, literacy status, occupation, socio-economic status influence the alcohol dependence with significant association (p<0.05). Among ever alcoholics, 86% of them never prefer health care facility for alcohol related health problems. Majority of them reported that they don’t know where to seek treatment followed by social stigma. Participants opined that alcohol consumption by males is an accepted norm in their community. Conclusions: Socio-demographic conditions are highly influencing the alcohol dependence. Occupation related physical aches and cultural acceptance of male alcohol consumption seems to be responsible for dependence. Treatment non-seeking behaviours were high due to social stigma and lack of awareness on treatment availability. The present scenario can be improved through enhancing IEC activities and training of health workers focusing on social stigma and management on alcohol related diseases.
Authors and Affiliations
Vijayalakshmi. S, Ramkumar S. , Mujibur Rahman K.
Keywords
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