Keywords: Substance use, Rural hospitals, inpatients
Background:
The United Nations 2017 policy on ‘The Prevention of Drug use and Treatment of Drug Use in Rural Settings’, reported that while substance use and its associated problems is on the rise in rural areas, comprehensive rural data is not widely available. The scale of substance use has not yet previously been examined from a solely rural inpatient perspective in Ireland.
Aim of the study:
This research is forming part of a PhD for the development of a nurse-led addiction model of care for resource poor and rural settings. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to determine burden within a community by providing estimating prevalence and local needs within a defined rural region, based on inpatient hospital data records from 2010-2021
Methodology:
Anonymised secondary data from three, rural general hospital HiPE datasets, were analysed using descriptive statistics. This analysis is part of an explanatory mixed methods study, where the quantitative aspect will analyse secondary data from three separate databases.
Results:
• The main substance that inpatients presented with was alcohol.
• Males presented more than females.
• Individuals may not access their closest healthcare provider.
• Majority of people are discharged home or self discharge
• Treatment is not widely provided across all three hospitals.
Conclusions:
While people may not be presenting primarily for substance use, there is a need for alcohol and drug use to be considered within in-patient treatment and discharge plans. Accounting for the scale of mortality and morbidity related to substance use globally, and national policies on ‘making every contact count’, there is a need for promoting these topics within in-patient setting. This research will give insight and perspective to the direction of care in relation to substance use in rural areas.
#2
