title: Alcohol, Isolation, and Access to Treatment: Family Physician Experiences of Alcohol Consumption and Access to Health Care in Rural British Columbia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this project was to study the experiences of physicians who treat persons with alcohol-attributed diseases in rural areas of British Columbia, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was distributed to primary health care physicians that had a family practice in a designated rural community using the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia's community isolation rating system. Data were collected through a mail and online survey sent to primary health care physicians. Purposeful sampling was used to select participants that had a primary health care practice in a designated rural community.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Surveys were returned by 22% of potential participants (N = 67) that had an average of 15.8 years in family practice. The majority of participants (95.4%) reported that alcohol had a negative impact on population health, and physicians expressed particular concern for alcohol consumption in relation to mental health (85.1%) and physical illness (82.1%). Most participants had referred patients out of the community for treatment; however, 76.4% reported difficulty with referrals, including long wait-lists, limited services, and issues related to transportation and leaving the community for substance use treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rural physicians showed an awareness and concern for alcohol consumption in their community, but they also reported difficulties referring patients for substance use treatment. Additional study is required to understand how to improve the continuity of care provided to persons with alcohol-related issues in rural British Columbia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.|Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Amanda K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Slaunwhite
authors.affiliation: Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.|School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Macdonald
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001955:British Columbia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: access to care; alcohol abuse; family medicine; geography; utilization of health services