Perceived need for care, help seeking, and perceived barriers to care for alcohol use disorders in a national sample

The aims of this study were to examine the rates and correlates of help seeking, perceived need for care, and perceived barriers to care among people with an alcohol use disorder in a large nationally representative sample.

Data were drawn from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions for persons 18 years and older (N=43,093). Three main groups were defined: people who sought help, people who perceived a need for care but did not seek help, and people who neither perceived a need nor sought help.

Almost one-third (N=11,843, or 28%) of survey respondents met DSM-IV criteria for a lifetime alcohol use disorder. Most individuals with an alcohol use disorder (81%) did not report seeking care or perceiving a need for help. Those who were younger, were married, had higher income, had higher education, and did not have an adverse general medical condition were significantly less likely to perceive a need for help or to seek help for an alcohol use disorder. Respondents who did not perceive a need for help or seek it were significantly less likely to have an additional axis I or axis II disorder.

Knowledge of the factors that influence perceived need for help could aid in developing interventions directed toward increasing the rates of help seeking among people with an alcohol use disorder. Regular screening for alcohol use disorders in primary health care settings is recommended.