Development and Validation of a Short Training Course to Help Primary Care Healthcare Professionals Identify Addictive Disorders

The morbi-mortality and social cost of addictive disorders led the French authorities to set up a government plan in 2018 to combat drugs and addictive behavior (Interministerial mission to combat drugs and addictive behaviour - (MILDECA)). In particular, it encourages early detection, which is the first stage in a validated global approach to the management of addictive disorders. Improving early identification of addictive disorders in primary care would reduce morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life for patients with addictive disorders. The identification of use disorders should be systematic in primary care and was the subject of a recommendation in 2015. Numerous tests are cited in these recommendations, but few have actually been validated in primary care, and none has been shown to be feasible. For example, only 23% of GPs claim to systematically identify alcohol consumption.

Other primary care professionals (physiotherapists, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists) also have a role to play in identifying addictive disorders. The evolution of their respective professions (delegation of tasks, creation of the profession of advanced practice nurse, medical assistants) and the recent reorganization of the practice framework, both in terms of practice structures and professional community organizations, involve them in a global multidisciplinary collaboration on patient care, particularly in the early identification of addictive disorders.

The hypothesis is that the difficulties in implementing tests to identify addictive disorders in primary care are linked to the lack of specific consideration of the needs of primary care patients and caregivers.

The overall aim of the study is to improve the early detection of addictive disorders through brief training for primary care healthcare professionals.