Perceived carer attitudes to alcohol dependent patients

Negative attitudes among carers towards people with alcohol-related problems have been reported in many studies. However, few studies have examined whether these attitudes are perceived by patients during face to face contact with healthcare professionals when receiving inpatient treatment. A sample of 26 discharged patients completed a 37-item questionnaire following treatment for alcohol problems. The Likert scale was used to measure whether patients felt that the attitude under investigation existed in the caring environment. The findings indicated that negative attitudes reported in other studies were not perceived by patients during inpatient treatment. Some barriers to treatment effectiveness such as prognostic pessimism were detected by the patients. Many upheld the view that the only goal of treatment adopted by staff was that of total abstinence. There is an increasing need to obtain feedback from patients who have received inpatient care. Greater flexibility and creativity in the care of the alcohol dependent person needs to be explored rather than the maintenance of a prescriptive approach.