Feasibility of alcohol interventions in cardiology: a qualitative study of clinician perspectives in Sweden.

AIMS: This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBI) in cardiology services. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a qualitative study. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 clinical cardiology staff (doctors, nurses, and assistant nurses) of varying experience levels and from various clinical settings (high-dependency unit, ward, and outpatient clinic), in three regions of Sweden. Reflexive thematic analysis was used, with deductive coding applying the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation (COM-B) theoretical framework. A total of 41 barriers and facilitators were identified, including 12 related to capability, 9 to opportunity, and 20 to motivation. Four themes were developed: (i) uncharted territory, where clinicians expressed a need to address alcohol use but lacked knowledge and a roadmap for implementing SBI; (ii) cardiology as a cardiovascular specialty, where tasks were prioritized according to established roles; (iii) alcohol stigma, where alcohol was reported to be a sensitive topic that staff avoid discussing with patients; and (iv) window of opportunity, where staff expressed potential for implementing SBI in routine cardiology care. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that opportunities exist for early identification and follow-up of hazardous alcohol use within routine cardiology care. Several barriers, including low knowledge, stigma, a lack of ownership, and a greater focus on other risk factors, must be addressed prior to the implementation of SBI in cardiology. To meet current clinical guidelines, there is a need to increase awareness and to improve pathways to addiction care. In addition, there may be a need for clinicians dedicated to alcohol interventions within cardiology services. REGISTRATION: OSF (osf.io/hx3ts).

Cultural analysis as a perspective for gender-informed alcohol treatment research in a Swedish context.

AIM: An exploratory study to investigate the role of culture in women's drinking at a clinic for women with alcohol problems in a Swedish treatment context. METHODS: A content analysis of the case journal material of 20 consecutive female patients at the EWA clinic (Early treatment of Women with Alcohol addiction) in Stockholm, Sweden, was conducted using an original instrument informed by the field of cultural psychiatry and emerging from recurrent themes in the case journals. RESULTS: The patients perceived themselves as having a sub-group status. A trajectory of ritualized actions around drinking, especially private drinking rituals, was identified. Existential components of patients' struggles with addiction in a highly secularized cultural context were identified. Multiple, contradictory explanatory frameworks for understanding drinking problems were creating cognitive dissonance. CONCLUSION: Using cultural analysis as a perspective for gaining gendered information may allow for identifying new patterns within specific cultural and subgroup contexts. It may contribute new information to the following treatment research areas: gender-appropriate measurement issues; service integration; gender-appropriate services for women; and, drinking rituals and patterns.

Facets of Male Violence Against Women With Substance Abuse Problems: Women With a Residence and Homeless Women.

The aims of this study were to investigate the type and extent to which women with substance abuse problems have been exposed to male violence during their lifetime, and to examine possible differences between women with a residence (WR) and homeless women (HW). The total sample included 79 women (WR, n = 35; HW, n = 44; M age = 47.8 years). Of the total sample, 72 women (91%) had experienced different kinds of male violence, 88% from former partners, and 26% from male friends or acquaintances. Of the 72 women, 71% further reported "Countless occasions of violent events," and 36% had been forced to commit criminal acts. Abused women who had been forced to commit criminal acts were significantly more frequently found to be homeless, have reported parental alcohol and/or drug problems, have witnessed domestic violence in childhood, have been victims of sexual violence, have used illicit drugs as a dominant preparation, and have injected illicit drugs. Almost half of the abused women (46%) met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where HW showed an almost 4-time higher risk (RR 3.78) than WR. In conclusion there is a particular vulnerability in women with substance abuse to male violence, which has an important impact on their health status. Thus, from a public health perspective, it is suggested that for those women who have experienced male violence, treatment protocols need to include both assessing and addressing the impact of such experience in relation to substance abuse as well as concomitant health concerns.