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Family Members' Help-Seeking Behaviour for Their Relative Who Uses Substances: A Cross-Sectional National Study in
Cassandra Borges Bortolon1,2, Martha Canfield3, Maria de Fatima Rato Padin1
1Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paolo 04021-001, Brazil.
Summary
Affected family members (AFM) in Brazil often delay seeking substance use treatment for relatives. Help-seeking is linked to socioeconomic status, but barriers like refusal and perceived lack of need are common.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Addiction Medicine
- Sociology
Background:
- Affected family members (AFM) are crucial in guiding relatives with substance use problems (RSU) toward treatment.
- Understanding AFM help-seeking behaviors and delays is vital for improving treatment access in Brazil.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate help-seeking behaviors of AFM for RSU in Brazil.
- To identify characteristics of AFM who sought help and risk factors for delaying treatment engagement.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of a national cross-sectional study involving 3030 AFM across Brazil.
- Data collected from AFM recruited from services nationwide.
Main Results:
- 92.7% of AFM sought help, but 66.0% experienced delays averaging 37.2 months.
- Help-seeking correlated with higher socioeconomic status and the Southeastern region.
- Barriers included relative refusal (31.5%) and belief that help was unnecessary (20.6%).
Conclusions:
- Significant disparities exist in AFM help-seeking behaviors based on socioeconomic status, region, and substance type.
- Interventions are needed to address delays, improve healthcare workforce distribution, and educate AFM on treatment engagement.
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