Substance abuse screening and brief intervention for adolescents in primary care

Sexual risk behaviour reduction interventions in primary care in Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development countries. A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Sexually transmitted infections are a major public health issue, both in France and worldwide. Primary healthcare professionals play a key role in sexual health and prevention, but few take on this subject. Prevention strategies are diverse, thus risk reduction strategies focussing on behavioural changes are still needed.

PURPOSE

We conducted a systematic review to analyse risk reduction interventions focussing on behavioural change in OECD countries in primary healthcare settings to help develop a prevention tool easy to apply in primary care.

METHODS

We searched for English- or French-language controlled trials in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, PsycINFO, PsycArticle, PBSC, SocINDEX, Google Scholar, and CAIRN, supplemented with the bibliographies of previous systematic reviews. Thirty controlled, randomized, or nonrandomized trials were included in the systematic review. We did not conduct any meta-analysis due to the diversity of populations, outcomes and study designs.

RESULTS

There are efficient interventions in primary healthcare settings for reducing sexual risk behaviours and/or incident STI. Their efficiency seems to grow with the length and intensity of the intervention. Most interventions target only young, high-risk patients, and their long-term impact is uncertain. Most included studies had an overall risk of bias estimated as high or with some concerns.

CONCLUSIONS

Some tools could be used in primary care, with possible efficiency though results are difficult to generalize, and value should be assessed in daily practice. Future research should also focus on older population given the epidemiological evolutions, but also lower-risk population to target all patients seen in primary care settings.

Student Experience of School Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

BACKGROUND

Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a clinical guideline that can help delay, prevent or reduce substance use behaviors in youth. We aimed to describe the experiences of middle and high school (MS and HS) students attending a school with an SBIRT program.

METHODS

This was a survey study conducted in 2 school districts that implemented SBIRT programs prior to statewide roll-out of mandatory school SBIRT in Massachusetts, in which students were asked about past-year substance use and then received brief counseling by a school professional. Students in grades that received SBIRT were subsequently invited to complete an electronic questionnaire about their SBIRT experience.

RESULTS

A total of 890 students were included in the study (63.7% MS, 36.3% HS). Experiences of school SBIRT were predominantly positive: 74.0% of participants reported that the information received was useful. Students who reported having used substances were less likely to agree that "schools should screen for substance use" than students who did not report substance use (AOR: 0.39, 95%CI: 0.29-0.53).

CONCLUSIONS

Most respondents found SBIRT of value, though students with past-year substance use were less positive about the experience. More research is needed to optimize SBIRT delivery in schools.

Moving beyond perceived riskiness: Marijuana-related beliefs and marijuana use in adolescents

Background: Perceived riskiness of marijuana in adolescents has been trending downward in the context of increasing legality and availability. Low perceived riskiness has been associated with marijuana use though evidence is lacking on associations among use and more specific claims about marijuana's safety and benefit, improved understanding of which could guide clinical interventions to reduce use. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional survey data collected from 502 adolescents aged 14-18 years recruited from an urban adolescent primary care clinic. Self-report questionnaires were administered via tablet computer. Use of marijuana was assessed with a brief validated screening tool, and agreement with each of five statements about marijuana's riskiness and health properties were reported using a four-point Likert scale. We conducted multivariable logistic regressions to determine the association between perceived riskiness and other marijuana-related beliefs and past-year marijuana use. Results: In total, 149 adolescents reported past-year marijuana use (29.7%). High overall perceived risk was associated with lower rates of past-year use (AOR 0.27, 95%CI: 0.15-0.48). Agreement with positive health beliefs that "marijuana can help teenagers focus in school" and that "marijuana is safe because it's natural" were associated with past-year marijuana use (respectively, AOR 5.50, 95%CI: 3.06-9.88 and AOR 6.61, 95%CI: 3.59-12.19) while agreement with negative health beliefs that "marijuana can affect youth even after they don't feel high anymore" and that "marijuana can be addictive" were both associated with lower rates of use (AOR 0.56, 95%CI: 0.31-0.99, and AOR 0.30, 95%CI: 0.16-0.56, respectively), adjusting for sociodemographic factors and use of other substances. Conclusions: Marijuana use varied in association with beliefs about its beneficial and harmful health properties. Clinical interventions that target specific marijuana-related health beliefs including unfounded claims of benefit may provide robust talking points for centering provider guidance and public health messaging.

Trends and Correlates of Cannabis-involved Emergency Department Visits: 2004 to 2011

OBJECTIVES

To examine trends and correlates of cannabis-involved emergency department (ED) visits in the United States from 2004 to 2011.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the 2004 to 2011 Drug Abuse Warning Network. We analyzed trend in cannabis-involved ED visits for persons aged ≥12 years and stratified by type of cannabis involvement (cannabis-only, cannabis-polydrug). We used logistic regressions to determine correlates of cannabis-involved hospitalization versus cannabis-involved ED visits only.

RESULTS

Between 2004 and 2011, the ED visit rate increased from 51 to 73 visits per 100,000 population aged ≥12 years for cannabis-only use (P value for trend = 0.004) and from 63 to 100 for cannabis-polydrug use (P value for trend < 0.001). Adolescents aged 12-17 years showed the largest increase in the cannabis-only-involved ED visit rate (rate difference = 80 per 100,000 adolescents). Across racial/ethnic groups, the most prevalent ED visits were noted among non-Hispanic blacks. Among cannabis-involved visits, the odds of hospitalization (vs ED visits only) increased with age strata compared with age 12 to 17 years.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest a notable increase in the ED visit numbers and rates for both the use of cannabis-only and cannabis-polydrug during the studied period, particularly among young people and non-Hispanic blacks.