[Attitudes and opinions of private practitioners towards alcoholism. A survey in the Languedoc-Roussillon region].
OBJECTIVE
Information on the position of private practitioners faced with the problem of alcoholism mainly concerns the role of the general practitioner in the follow-up of these patients and there is little information from private specialists, hence the need for new data


METHODS
All the general practitioners and specialists in the Languedoc-Roussillon area were interviewed through a mailed questionnaire regarding their opinion on alcohol consumption and public health; their definition of the risks; moderate consumption and health; how they approached the question of drinking during consultations and their involvement in training and prevention.


RESULTS
Six hundred sixty-five practitioners (12.4% of those interviewed) returned the questionnaire. The profile of those who replied was identical to that of the whole population surveyed. The medical corps is clearly aware of the need to fight against alcohol abuse, but this is associated with a relative ignorance of the basics of alcoholism, a non-systematic approach of the question of drinking during consultations, little involvement in its management, limited use of the specialised structures and limited training on the question. The specialists are less involved than the general practitioners, but appear more at ease when approaching the question of drinking with their patients and resort more frequently to specialised structures than the general practitioners. Continued medical training on alcoholism only concerned a minority of practitioners and its practical impact was low.


CONCLUSIONS
With regard to alcoholism, the practitioners fulfill their role in providing medical care, within the limits of available therapeutic resources, but their role with regard to the reduction of the risks, i.e., primary or early prevention is more or less disregarded.
Nalpas
Bertrand
B
Service d'hépatogastroentérologie et alcoologie & INSERM U370 CHU Caremeau Av du P. R. Debré, 30000 Nîmes. bnalpas@bsi.fr
Lemaitre
Rémi
R
Dalbiès
Pierre-Adrien
PA
Monod
Pierre
P
Martin
Sandrine
S
Balmès
Jean-Louis
JL
D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011331:Private Practice; D012017:Referral and Consultation
Attitudes et opinions des médecins libéraux sur l'alcoolisme. Une enquête en région Languedoc-Roussillon.