Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2025
Investigating Drivers of Antireward in Addiction Behavior with Anatomically Specific Single-Cell Gene Expression Methods
Published on: August 4, 2022
Pathways to care for substance use treatment among tribal patients at a psychiatric hospital: A comparative study
Arathi Balan1, Prasad Kannekanti1, Sourav Khanra2
1Department of Psychiatric Social Work, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.
Objectives:
According to the national mental health survey, substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent in 22.4% of the population above 18 years, whereas the same is 26% among the tribal population. The treatment gap is also high in substance-addictive disorders. Our study aimed to compare the severity of substance use, pathways to psychiatric care, and treatment-seeking behavior among the tribal and non-tribal populations.
Materials And Methods:
The study was conducted at a tertiary psychiatric teaching institute in India. It was a cross-sectional comparative study. Patients fulfilling the International Classification of Disease 10 diagnostic criteria of mental and behavioral disorders due to substance use, with active dependence, were taken without comorbidity. Forty patients in tribal and non-tribal groups were recruited with consecutive sampling. The samples were assessed with a semi-structured interview schedule, addiction severity index, attitudes toward help-seeking, and pathways-to-care.
Results:
Excessive substance use median was for 7.00 (± 5.00) years in tribal and 6.00 (± 4.00) years in non-tribal; in tribal, substance intake was younger than non-tribal (P = 0.167), and general health-care system more distance than the non-tribal (P < 0.001). Around 65% of the persons with SUD never consulted their general practitioner and primary health-care facilities. Alcohol severity was higher in the tribal population than in the non-tribal population. The cannabis and opioid severity was high in the non-tribal population. Help-seeking behavior was deficient in both groups.
Conclusion:
Most of the substance abuse tribal and non-tribal populations reach healthcare very late and do not consider it as a health issue initially. The major reason for the delayed pathway is a lack of awareness about mental health care facilities and stigma in both populations. The stigma is high in non-tribal communities compared to the tribal community. There is a need to improve the identification and treatment of alcohol morbidity in primary care.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
01:30Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...
01:28Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I
Daycare centers
They provide several functions. Some facilities care for healthy newborns and children whose parents work, while others are medically focused and care for...
01:24Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
01:17Healthcare Agencies II
Parish nursing is a growing specialty nursing profession that focuses on holistic healthcare, health promotion, and illness prevention. It blends professional nursing practice with a health ministry, focusing on health and healing within the context of a Christian community. Parish nurses serve as health educators, referral sources,...