[Primary care and alcohol use disorders: evaluation of a faculty-development program in Venezuela].
OBJECTIVE
Primary care offers an opportunity to identify and treat persons who drink alcohol above permissible levels. In order to prepare primary care practitioners around the world to prevent and treat alcohol-related problems, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the United States of America has developed and tested a model international program for educating physicians about such problems. The model was designed to increase the clinical, teaching, and research skills of medical school faculty who work with medical students, residents, and primary care physicians. Venezuela was one of the countries selected for the initiative.


METHODS
During September 1999 a five-day faculty-development course consisting of 19 workshops was conducted at the University of Zulia, which is located in the city of Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela. Teaching strategies included class presentations, role plays, case presentations, skills-building workshops, and having each participant develop a teaching plan that he or she would use.


RESULTS
Thirty-three faculty members from 9 of Venezuela's 10 medical schools participated in the project. The 18 female and 15 male participants had an average age of 44 years. The areas of specialization of the 33 participants were: family medicine (9 participants), psychiatry (7), pediatrics (6), obstetrics (4), internal medicine (3), and unspecified (4). Of the 33 participants, 25 of them (76%) completed a six-month follow-up interview. This group said they had significantly increased their competence in 14 clinical areas and that they had successfully implemented new teaching activities within their respective medical schools and residency programs.


CONCLUSIONS
This model proved to be an effective strategy for increasing training for physicians in the prevention and treatment of alcohol-related problems in Venezuela. The evaluation confirms similar findings in other countries where the program has been implemented.
Gaskin de  Urdaneta
Alvia
A
Facultad de Medicina, La Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Seale
J Paul
JP
Fleming
Michael
M
Murray
Margaret
M
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D004493:Education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D014687:Venezuela