Packages Of Care For Alcohol Use Disorders In Low- And Middle-Income Countries

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 27 Oct 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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In the latest article in PLoS Medicine's series proposing the delivery of packages of care for mental, neurological and substance-use disorders in low- and middle-income countries, Vivek Benegal and colleagues discuss the treatment of alcohol use disorders in settings where resources are limited. Packages of care are combinations of treatments aimed at improving the recognition and management of conditions to achieve optimal outcomes.

Alcohol misuse is responsible for a disproportionately high health burden, accounting for almost 5% of all ill-health and premature death worldwide in 2004. Yet, the treatment and prevention of alcohol use disorders is a low priority in low- and middle-income countries.

The authors report that health care systems in settings where resources are limited currently focus on providing tertiary care services for the treatment of alcohol dependence (where there is often a poor outcome), and exemplify that this focus needs to shift towards the cost-effective strategy of providing brief interventions for the earlier stages of alcohol use disorders.

The PLoS Medicine series on mental, neurological and substance use disorders is accompanied by a related perspective by Vikram Patel and Graham Thornicroft, the Guest Editors of the series.

Funding: No specific funding was received for this piece.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation:
"Packages of Care for Alcohol Use Disorders in Low- And Middle-Income Countries.
Benegal V, Chand PK, Obot IS (2009)
PLoS Med 6(10):e1000170.doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000170

Source
PLoS Medicine