Health Service Utilization Among Managed Alcohol Program Participants: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Managed alcohol programs (MAPs) offer safe and regulated doses of alcohol to individuals with high-risk drinking behaviours unresponsive to other treatments. As one of the main MAP pillars, it is important to understand the impacts of MAPs on access to healthcare. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, I analyzed survey and interview data from six Canadian cities (2014 – 2017). In a cross-sectional analysis, MAP participants (n=188) were more likely to report regular and satisfactory access to healthcare that met their needs compared to control participants (n=198). There were no differences in access to healthcare between MAP (n=82) and control (n=116) participants with 12-month longitudinal follow-up data; however, when MAP participants were on the program, they had an increased likelihood of reporting regular and satisfactory access to healthcare. Themes and sub-themes generated from the qualitative interview analysis (n=56) helped to explain the impacts of MAPs on access to healthcare.