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. 2018;26(1):59-67.
doi: 10.1007/s10389-017-0841-0. Epub 2017 Oct 6.

Changes in profile of patients seeking alcohol treatment and treatment outcomes following policy changes

Anne-Sophie Schwarz  1 , Bent Nielsen  1 , Anette Søgaard Nielsen  1
Affiliations

Changes in profile of patients seeking alcohol treatment and treatment outcomes following policy changes

Anne-Sophie Schwarz et al. Z Gesundh Wiss. 2018.

Abstract

Aim: In 2007, the legal obligation to deliver alcohol treatment to the public was transferred to the 98 municipalities of Denmark. This resulted in changes in how alcohol treatment centers in Denmark work. The aim of the present study was to describe the patient profiles and treatment outcomes in the alcohol treatment centers regarding regional variation and changes over time.

Subjects and methods: This is a descriptive, register-based study of patients enrolled in alcohol treatment centers from 2006-2014 in Denmark. Only patients above the age of 15 years and with a valid postal code were included. The sample was restricted to the patients' first contact with the alcohol treatment register (n = 44,516).

Results: Patients who initiated treatment in the period 2006-2014 and were registered in the National Alcohol Treatment Register were primarily males (69-70%) with an average age between 46 and 49 years. Most had a vocational education (38-41%) on top of their primary education. The number of years with excessive alcohol use started out as being quite different in the five regions, but became more homogeneous over the study period. Treatment duration in the various regions followed a similar pattern, with all five of them having a similar treatment duration time of 160-230 days by 2014.

Conclusion: We found that treatment for alcohol use disorder became more homogeneous across the regions in Denmark over time and that by 2014 it was difficult to identify any differences across the country.

Keywords: Alcohol problems; Alcohol treatment; Alcohol use disorder; National register.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with ethical standardsThe authors received funding from the Lundbeck Foundation, Trygfonden, Region of Southern Denmark, and the University of Southern Denmark. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.This article does not contain any studies with animals or human participants performed by any of the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Duration of treatment in days across regions and time
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Excessive alcohol use in years across regions and time
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Patient referral from a self-referral; b psychiatric or somatic hospital; c friends or family; d social services
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percentage of successful discharges from alcohol treatment centers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Danish Centre for Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment, National Board of Health (2006) Alkoholbehandling—en medicinsk teknologivurdering [Danish]. http://www.sst.dk/~/media/C80859970F6649C28ECFFAD95A07C22F.ashx. Accessed 02 Oct 2017
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