Abstract
BackgroundAmong all psychoactive substances, alcohol consumption presents the most significant public health problem and is a leading risk factor for overall disease burden in Latin America. However, most people who meet criteria for a substance use disorder do not receive treatment in primary or secondary care sources. Community members can play a role in helping people to seek help as they are likely to encounter people experiencing problem drinking and recognize the signs. However, many do not have adequate mental health first aid knowledge or skills to provide help. We aimed to culturally adapt the existing English-language mental health first aid guidelines for helping someone with problem drinking for Argentina and Chile.MethodsThe Delphi consensus method was used to determine the importance of helping actions translated from the English-language guidelines and to add new actions suggested by expert panellists. The importance of each statement was rated by two expert panels. Panel one included people with lived experience (either their own or as a support person, n = 23) recruited in Argentina and panel two included health professionals (n = 31) recruited in Argentina and Chile.ResultsOverall, 165 helping actions were endorsed by panellists across two consecutive survey rounds. Endorsed items included 132 of the 182 items translated into Spanish from the English-language guidelines and 33 of the 61 new items generated from panellists’ comments in the first survey round.ConclusionsWhile there were some similarities in recommended helping actions between English-speaking countries, and Argentina and Chile, key differences were seen in attitudes to low-risk drinking. While there was a relatively high level of agreement between health professionals and people with lived experience, some divergence of opinion was seen, particularly in the area of commitment to recovery as a condition for help. Future research should explore the implementation of the guidelines.
Highlights
Among all psychoactive substances, alcohol consumption presents the most significant public health problem and is a leading risk factor for overall disease burden in Latin America
While epidemiological data on alcohol consumption in Latin America are relatively scarce, it has been estimated that alcohol consumption causes over 10% of the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in the region [10]
In 2020, the Americas had the second-highest percentage of DALYS attributable to alcohol consumption when compared to the other World Health Organization (WHO) Regions and the highest rates of alcohol-attributable deaths per 100,000 due to alcohol use disorders [11]
Summary
Alcohol consumption presents the most significant public health problem and is a leading risk factor for overall disease burden in Latin America. Alcohol consumption presents the most significant public health problem and is a leading risk factor for overall disease burden in Latin America [1] According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol consumption levels in the Americas Region are 40% higher than the global average, while. Alcohol is the leading risk factor for death and disability among people aged 15–49 [2]. In 2020, the Americas had the second-highest percentage of DALYS attributable to alcohol consumption when compared to the other WHO Regions and the highest rates of alcohol-attributable deaths per 100,000 due to alcohol use disorders [11]
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