Assessment of the knowledge and awareness of family physicians working in family health centers in Sakarya about referring patients to alcohol and substance treatment and education centers

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Addiction has been an important social problem affecting individuals, families, and societies throughout history. Alcohol and substance use are increasingly common, and the age of onset is decreasing day by day. Institutions need to work in collaboration to effectively combat addiction. Our study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of family physicians about referring addicted patients to AMATEMs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on family physicians working in Family Health Centers in Sakarya between December 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Of the 325 family physicians who agreed to participate in the study and filled out the survey form completely and accurately, 196 were included in the study. A survey form consisting of 30 questions was used as the data collection tool. Data collection tools were applied face-to-face and online. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 program was used for data analysis. RESULTS: In our study, there was a statistically significant difference between working period as a family physician and questioning patients about alcohol use during examination (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship between working period as a family physician and substance use questioning during examination (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between working period, period as a family physician, daily number of patients, and referral of patients with alcohol/substance use disorders to relevant centers (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Family physicians should approach individuals who apply to them within the scope of maintaining and improving health as a whole, and should also question smoking, alcohol and substance use during examination, and refer individuals to relevant centers according to their needs when necessary. Keywords: alcoholism, dependence, drug addiction, family medicine, fight addiction