Women Veterans' Perspectives on the Acceptability of Behavioral Health Treatment for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Primary Care.

OBJECTIVE

The gap in alcohol consumption among men and women is narrowing, yet rates of alcohol treatment engagement among women veterans remain low. When women do seek alcohol treatment, they tend to do so in non-alcohol-specific settings, such as primary care. Although incorporating patient preferences into treatment has been associated with better outcomes, little is known about women veteran's perspectives on the acceptability of primary care alcohol treatment.

METHOD: Women veterans with indicators of unhealthy alcohol use who were not currently receiving alcohol treatment were read a description of a hypothetical alcohol treatment in primary care and asked in semi-structured interviews to assess four theoretically-informed components of treatment acceptability: appropriateness, convenience, suitability, and effectiveness. A rapid analytic process was used to interpret interview data.

RESULTS

Participants were 20 women veterans with a mean age of 47.55 (SD = 8.97), half identified as a racial minority. The average AUDIT score was in the hazardous range. Participants identified alcohol as a relevant issue and emphasized the importance of a flexible, patient-centered treatment approach. Intervention content (e.g., psychoeducation, normative feedback) and skills (e.g., identifying triggers, managing cravings and social pressures) presented in the hypothetical alcohol treatment were considered potentially effective, with some suggestions for modification.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study suggest that unhealthy alcohol use is a relevant problem for women veterans. Moreover, brief alcohol interventions in primary care may be most acceptable to women veterans when comorbid psychiatric symptoms, women-specific concerns, patient-centered goals, and convenience in treatment engagement are taken into consideration.