TY - JOUR
T1 - Client and stakeholder perceptions of a novel, nurse practitioner-led alcohol and other drug ambulatory withdrawal service
AU - Burr, Dianna
AU - Reid, Carol
AU - Smyth, Darren
AU - Hynes, Sean
AU - Fenech, Mary
AU - Merollini, Katharina
AU - Young, Jeanine
A2 - Searby, Adam
N1 - Funding Information:
The nurse\u2010practitioner led model of ambulatory withdrawal was developed to provide withdrawal management of individuals supervised in their home and is staffed by a nurse practitioner and registered nurse. The program was funded by the Gold Coast Primary Health Network and supervised withdrawal from alcohol and/or other drugs was conducted free of charge to clients. Service to clients involved them attending daily office\u2010based appointments for consultation with the registered nurse and/or nurse practitioner, to monitor the symptoms of withdrawal, providing assessment of physical and mental health and coordinating care after the client had safely withdrawn from alcohol and/or other drugs. The service was staffed by a nurse practitioner with prescribing authority, who devised the treatment plan for the individual during clinic treatment on days one to three of the withdrawal episode. Two registered nurses worked alongside the nurse practitioner to monitor progress during the withdrawal episode, including monitoring medication use and the physical state of the individual and provided counselling and brief intervention where required [ 13 ].
Funding Information:
The research team would like to acknowledge the participants in this study for their time in participating. We would also like to acknowledge the Queensland Injectors Health Network and the Gold Coast Primary Health Network for funding this project, and University of the Sunshine Coast and Deakin University for in\u2010kind support offered to the project team. Open access publishing facilitated by Deakin University, as part of the Wiley \u2010 Deakin University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - Introduction: Despite recommendations for ambulatory withdrawal programs appearing in many contemporary alcohol and other drug treatment guidelines, to date there have been few studies exploring such programs from client and service stakeholder perspectives. The aim of this study was to explore both individual and service stakeholder perceptions of a nurse practitioner-led ambulatory withdrawal service on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Methods: Data were obtained from three groups: clinicians with knowledge of the service (n = 6); relatives of clients who had used the service (n = 2); and clients who had used the service (n = 10) using a Qualitative Descriptive design. Saldaña's (Saldaña, The coding manual for qualitative researchers. 2013) structural coding framework was used to analyse and code data into themes, with the study reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist (Tong et al. Int J Qual Health Care 2017;19:349–57). Results: Participants noted advantages of the nurse practitioner-led ambulatory withdrawal service, including rapid availability of admission to the service and a person-centred approach. Compared with other ambulatory withdrawal options, clients valued the ability to remain in their own environment, however participants suggested greater follow-up after withdrawal, with the potential of a home visiting service for greater client engagement and treatment retention. Discussion and Conclusions: Findings provide evidence to suggest that nurse practitioner-led ambulatory withdrawal services are an acceptable option for a proportion of clients who need rapid access to services when they wish to make changes to their alcohol and/or other drug use. Furthermore, they can provide person-centred care for comorbid physical and mental ill health occurring in addition to psychosocial issues associated with alcohol and/or other drug use.
AB - Introduction: Despite recommendations for ambulatory withdrawal programs appearing in many contemporary alcohol and other drug treatment guidelines, to date there have been few studies exploring such programs from client and service stakeholder perspectives. The aim of this study was to explore both individual and service stakeholder perceptions of a nurse practitioner-led ambulatory withdrawal service on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Methods: Data were obtained from three groups: clinicians with knowledge of the service (n = 6); relatives of clients who had used the service (n = 2); and clients who had used the service (n = 10) using a Qualitative Descriptive design. Saldaña's (Saldaña, The coding manual for qualitative researchers. 2013) structural coding framework was used to analyse and code data into themes, with the study reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist (Tong et al. Int J Qual Health Care 2017;19:349–57). Results: Participants noted advantages of the nurse practitioner-led ambulatory withdrawal service, including rapid availability of admission to the service and a person-centred approach. Compared with other ambulatory withdrawal options, clients valued the ability to remain in their own environment, however participants suggested greater follow-up after withdrawal, with the potential of a home visiting service for greater client engagement and treatment retention. Discussion and Conclusions: Findings provide evidence to suggest that nurse practitioner-led ambulatory withdrawal services are an acceptable option for a proportion of clients who need rapid access to services when they wish to make changes to their alcohol and/or other drug use. Furthermore, they can provide person-centred care for comorbid physical and mental ill health occurring in addition to psychosocial issues associated with alcohol and/or other drug use.
KW - alcohol related disorders
KW - ambulatory withdrawal
KW - nurse practitioners
KW - substance related disorders
KW - substance withdrawal syndrome
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85195213717
U2 - 10.1111/dar.13870
DO - 10.1111/dar.13870
M3 - Article
C2 - 38830817
AN - SCOPUS:85195213717
SN - 0959-5236
VL - 43
SP - 1787
EP - 1797
JO - Drug and Alcohol Review
JF - Drug and Alcohol Review
IS - 7
ER -