A Rapid Appraisal of How Alcohol Is Screened and Treated Amongst Minoritised Ethnic Service Users Within Community Mental Health Settings

Abstract

Introduction

Close to half of those engaged with community mental health teams (CMHT) report an alcohol or drug problem. UK public health guidance recommends that these services screen for harmful alcohol use, but reporting may be less likely amongst minoritised ethnic groups. This study aimed to explore: (i) the prevalence of screening and referrals to alcohol services within CMHTs and differences across ethnic groups; (ii) how alcohol use is assessed and treated in CMHTs, and tailored for minoritised ethnic service users; and (iii) staff and minoritised ethnic service users' experiences of assessing and reporting alcohol use.

Methods

A rapid appraisal was conducted which triangulated data across patient healthcare records (aim 1), online survey (aim 2), interviews and focus groups (aim 3) with three CMHT services within an NHS Mental Health Foundation Trust in North-West England. Data was analysed using framework analysis.

Results

Both patient notes and survey data showed that alcohol was seldom assessed using formal tools. Three themes were developed reflecting differences in the barriers of reporting and assessing alcohol use for minoritised ethnic service users and staff. With barriers for the former including information sharing and barriers for the latter including protecting the therapeutic relationship.

Discussion and Conclusions

Triangulating data from across different sources highlights the complex challenges that services face in meeting the recommendations around alcohol screening in CMH services. Our findings have implications on the need for staff in mental health services to better understand and accommodate the needs of minoritised ethnic service users who may have co-occurring alcohol and mental health problems.