Abstract
Alcohol and drug abuse is a problem for many societies.
However, health professionals are not always prepared to
tackle this issue appropriately. The objective of this article
is to present an overview of alcohol and drug consumption in Brazil, as well as the challenges and options that
health professionals have regarding their education and
practice. According to data from 2012, Brazil has had an
increase in psychoactive substance consumption, which
arrays individual and social harms. Thus the urgent need
to count with an integral approach delivered by trained
health teams. Here, Brief Intervention and Matrix
Support are recognized as strategies that can be implemented as practice approach and continued education, respectively. These strategies allow professionals to be
in contact with the patient in order to plan together the
goals of the treatment, to count with the collaboration
of other colleagues to follow the case and to discuss and
review the therapeutic project. Insufficient education on
drug abuse in undergraduate programs and political and
public discourse regarding drug users are some factors
that influence and limit the interest of health professionals on this issue. Continued education of health teams,
broader academic discussions and a critical review of
media and political discourses are among the alternatives to include alcohol and drug dependence into the
Brazilian health sector.
However, health professionals are not always prepared to
tackle this issue appropriately. The objective of this article
is to present an overview of alcohol and drug consumption in Brazil, as well as the challenges and options that
health professionals have regarding their education and
practice. According to data from 2012, Brazil has had an
increase in psychoactive substance consumption, which
arrays individual and social harms. Thus the urgent need
to count with an integral approach delivered by trained
health teams. Here, Brief Intervention and Matrix
Support are recognized as strategies that can be implemented as practice approach and continued education, respectively. These strategies allow professionals to be
in contact with the patient in order to plan together the
goals of the treatment, to count with the collaboration
of other colleagues to follow the case and to discuss and
review the therapeutic project. Insufficient education on
drug abuse in undergraduate programs and political and
public discourse regarding drug users are some factors
that influence and limit the interest of health professionals on this issue. Continued education of health teams,
broader academic discussions and a critical review of
media and political discourses are among the alternatives to include alcohol and drug dependence into the
Brazilian health sector.
| Translated title of the contribution | Drug abuse: challenges and options for health professional practice in Brazil |
|---|---|
| Original language | Portuguese |
| Pages (from-to) | 51-57 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Brasília Médica |
| Volume | 50 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
