Search results

Problem alcohol use (PAU) is common and associated with considerable adverse outcomes among patients receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT). The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative feasibility assessment of a primary care-based complex intervention to promote screening and brief intervention for PAU, which also aims to examine acceptability and potential effectiveness.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients and eight general practitioners (GPs) who had been purposively sampled from practices that had participated in the feasibility study. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.

Six key themes were identified. While all GPs found the intervention informative and feasible, most considered it challenging to incorporate into practice. Barriers included time constraints, and overlooking and underestimating PAU among this cohort of patients. However, the intervention was considered potentially deliverable and acceptable in practice. Patients reported that (in the absence of the intervention) their use of alcohol was rarely discussed with their GP, and were reticent to initiate conversations on their alcohol use for fear of having their methadone dose reduced.

Although a complex intervention to enhance alcohol screening and brief intervention among primary care patients attending for OAT is likely to be feasible and acceptable, time constraints and patients’ reticence to discuss alcohol as well as GPs underestimating patients’ alcohol problems is a barrier to consistent, regular and accurate screening by GPs. Future research by way of a definitive efficacy trial informed by the findings of this study and the Psychosocial INTerventions for Alcohol quantitative data is a priority.

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first qualitative study to examine the capability of primary care to address PAU among patients receiving OAT.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and process evaluation of an educational intervention, designed to help general practitioners (GPs) identify and manage problem alcohol use among problem drug users.

The educational session was developed as part of a complex intervention which was informed by the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions. A Cochrane review and a modified Delphi-facilitated consensus process formed the theoretical phase of the development. The modelling phase involved qualitative interviews with professionals and patients. The training's learning outcomes included alcohol screening and delivery of brief psychosocial interventions and this was facilitated by demonstration of clinical guidelines, presentation, video, group discussion and/or role play.

Participants (n=17) from three general practices and local medical school participated in four workshops. They perceived the training as most helpful in improving their ability to perform alcohol screening. Most useful components of the session were the presentation, handout and group discussion with participants appreciating the opportunity to share their ideas with peers.

Training primary healthcare professionals in alcohol screening and brief psychosocial interventions among problem drug users appears feasible. Along with the educational workshops, the implementation strategies should utilise multi-level interventions to support these activities among GPs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of Cross-Functional Awareness (CFA) and to question how firm size influences the impact of ERP implementation strategies on CFA. Specifically, the paper questions whether size moderates the capability of the firm to achieve CFA.

The authors developed and empirically tested a conceptual framework using the partial least squares structural equation modeling approach. This study gathered data from a sample of 45 French SMEs and 55 French large firms.

The results show that ERP implementation strategies (flexibility, organizational vision, Business Process Re-Engineering, speed of implementation, and focus on core modules) have a direct positive relationship and, in large firms, an indirect relationship (via data quality improvement) with the emergence of CFA. The study also suggests that firm size moderates the resulting emergence of ERP-enabled CFA. The findings will help researchers understand the factors associated with ERP implementation and use that promote or inhibit successful use of ERP systems.

Similar to many published ERP surveys, the sample size is small. In addition, the authors examined CFA in the survey from the perspective of a single respondent per firm. Finally, there may be a cultural limitation linked to the respondents all being French firms.

The findings will promote a better understanding of the concept of CFA and its benefits amongst managers, leading to increased productivity and efficiency with ERP. In particular, they will help practitioners identify and manage the right factors during ERP implementations.

In the expanding world of Enterprise System research, this paper is significant in that it studies the effect of ERP implementation on CFA rather than investigating the factors affecting ERP implementation or the outcomes of ERP implementations. To the best of the knowledge, this is one of the few papers that theoretically articulates and empirically explores the concept of CFA, and tests the relationship between implementation strategy factors and CFA, including the moderating role of size in the context of ERP. The contribution shows that the firm size effect should be examined at the level of SMEs and larger firms separately, rather than at an overall level.