title: Substance abuse patterns and psychiatric symptomatology among three healthcare provider groups evaluated in an out-patient program for impaired healthcare professionals.
abstract: Three impaired health care provider groups (N = 84) (nurses, pharmacists, and providers with prescriptive authority) referred for a substance abuse evaluation at an outpatient-based program were compared on demographic and family factors, substance abuse patterns, and psychiatric symptomology as assessed by the Personality Assessment Inventory. Nurses had the highest rates of family history of addiction, problems with benzodiazepines, and psychiatric comorbidity. Overall, health care professionals endorsed opioids twice as often as alcohol as a preferred substance. Family history of addiction, sex, and psychiatric comorbidity emerged as salient factors among these health care professionals. Clinical implications are examined in light of the current findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73126-0901, USA. julio-rojas@ouhsc.edu
authors.forename: Julio I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Haekyung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jeon-Slaughter
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D005192:Family Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D011363:Professional Impairment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D017678:Sex Distribution; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*