A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada
Abstract Background Substance use among youth (ages 12–24) is troublesome given the increasing risk of harms associated. Even more so, substance use services are largely underutilized among youth, most only accessing support when in crisis. Few studies have explored young people’s help-seeking behav...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-022-00456-4 |
| _version_ | 1817989750872604672 |
|---|---|
| author | Roxanne Turuba Anurada Amarasekera Amanda Madeleine Howard Violet Brockmann Corinne Tallon Sarah Irving Steve Mathias Joanna Henderson Kirsten Marchand Skye Barbic |
| author_facet | Roxanne Turuba Anurada Amarasekera Amanda Madeleine Howard Violet Brockmann Corinne Tallon Sarah Irving Steve Mathias Joanna Henderson Kirsten Marchand Skye Barbic |
| author_sort | Roxanne Turuba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Substance use among youth (ages 12–24) is troublesome given the increasing risk of harms associated. Even more so, substance use services are largely underutilized among youth, most only accessing support when in crisis. Few studies have explored young people’s help-seeking behaviours to address substance use concerns. To address this gap, this study explored how youth perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Methods Participatory action research methods were used by partnering with BC youth (under the age of 30) from across the province who have lived and/or living experience of substance use to co-design the research protocol and materials. An initial focus group and interviews were held with 30 youth (ages 12–24) with lived and/or living experience of substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, and illicit substances. The discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using a data-driven approach. Results Three main themes were identified and separated by phase of service interaction, starting with: Prevention/Early intervention, where youth described feeling unworthy of support; Service accessibility, where youth encountered many barriers finding relevant substance use services and information; and Service delivery, where youth highlighted the importance of meeting them where they are at, including supporting those who have milder treatment needs and/or do not meet the diagnosis criteria of a substance use disorder. Conclusions Our results suggest a clear need to prioritize substance use prevention and early interventions specifically targeting youth and young adults. Youth and peers with lived and/or living experience should be involved in co-designing and co-delivering such programs to ensure their relevance and credibility among youth. The current disease model of care leaves many of the needs of this population unmet, calling for a more integrated youth-centred approach to address the multifarious concerns linked to young people’s substance use and service outcomes and experiences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:51:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ad34a1cd106149aea2c664580999cb64 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1747-597X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:51:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-ad34a1cd106149aea2c664580999cb642022-12-22T02:21:49ZengBMCSubstance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy1747-597X2022-05-0117111310.1186/s13011-022-00456-4A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, CanadaRoxanne Turuba0Anurada Amarasekera1Amanda Madeleine Howard2Violet Brockmann3Corinne Tallon4Sarah Irving5Steve Mathias6Joanna Henderson7Kirsten Marchand8Skye Barbic9FoundryFoundryFoundryFoundryFoundryFoundryFoundryCentre for Addiction and Mental HealthFoundryFoundryAbstract Background Substance use among youth (ages 12–24) is troublesome given the increasing risk of harms associated. Even more so, substance use services are largely underutilized among youth, most only accessing support when in crisis. Few studies have explored young people’s help-seeking behaviours to address substance use concerns. To address this gap, this study explored how youth perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Methods Participatory action research methods were used by partnering with BC youth (under the age of 30) from across the province who have lived and/or living experience of substance use to co-design the research protocol and materials. An initial focus group and interviews were held with 30 youth (ages 12–24) with lived and/or living experience of substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, and illicit substances. The discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using a data-driven approach. Results Three main themes were identified and separated by phase of service interaction, starting with: Prevention/Early intervention, where youth described feeling unworthy of support; Service accessibility, where youth encountered many barriers finding relevant substance use services and information; and Service delivery, where youth highlighted the importance of meeting them where they are at, including supporting those who have milder treatment needs and/or do not meet the diagnosis criteria of a substance use disorder. Conclusions Our results suggest a clear need to prioritize substance use prevention and early interventions specifically targeting youth and young adults. Youth and peers with lived and/or living experience should be involved in co-designing and co-delivering such programs to ensure their relevance and credibility among youth. The current disease model of care leaves many of the needs of this population unmet, calling for a more integrated youth-centred approach to address the multifarious concerns linked to young people’s substance use and service outcomes and experiences.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-022-00456-4Substance useYouthAdolescentsYoung adultsService experiencesParticipatory action research |
| spellingShingle | Roxanne Turuba Anurada Amarasekera Amanda Madeleine Howard Violet Brockmann Corinne Tallon Sarah Irving Steve Mathias Joanna Henderson Kirsten Marchand Skye Barbic A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy Substance use Youth Adolescents Young adults Service experiences Participatory action research |
| title | A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_full | A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_fullStr | A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_short | A qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_sort | qualitative study exploring how young people perceive and experience substance use services in british columbia canada |
| topic | Substance use Youth Adolescents Young adults Service experiences Participatory action research |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-022-00456-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT roxanneturuba aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT anuradaamarasekera aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT amandamadeleinehoward aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT violetbrockmann aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT corinnetallon aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT sarahirving aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT stevemathias aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT joannahenderson aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT kirstenmarchand aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT skyebarbic aqualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT roxanneturuba qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT anuradaamarasekera qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT amandamadeleinehoward qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT violetbrockmann qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT corinnetallon qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT sarahirving qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT stevemathias qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT joannahenderson qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT kirstenmarchand qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada AT skyebarbic qualitativestudyexploringhowyoungpeopleperceiveandexperiencesubstanceuseservicesinbritishcolumbiacanada |