title: Impact of drug awareness and treatment camps on attendance at a community outreach de-addiction clinic.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Substance misuse is an increasing problem in urban and rural India. The utility of community-based interventions and preventive strategies are increasingly emphasized in this context. The drug de-addiction and treatment center, Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, has been running a drug de-addiction and treatment clinic at Kharar Civil Hospital, Kharar, District Mohali, Punjab, since 1998. As part of an effort to enhance this community outreach program, community-based drug awareness and treatment camps have been organized since March 2004 in villages in and around Tehsil Kharar of Mohali.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the impact of the drug awareness and treatment camps on the attendance of patients at the community outreach drug de-addiction and treatment clinic at Kharar Civil Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sociodemographic and clinical variables, including treatment outcome-related variables, of patients attending the clinic at Kharar Civil Hospital, before and after the camps were compared.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study showed a positive impact on drug awareness and treatment camps held in the community on outpatient attendance at a community outreach clinic, with attendance increasing more than 1.8 times.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Om Prakash
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Giri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bharadwaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Arun Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Paramanand
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kulhara
keywords: Camps; community services; de-addiction; rural practice; substance abuse