Willingness of Facial Injury Patients to Change Causal Substance Using Behaviors

Many injuries due to interpersonal violence among patients presenting to urban trauma centers for treatment are preventable, with alcohol and illicit drug use presenting as common antecedent risk factors. However, many patients with such problems do not seek treatment. Substance use patients were surveyed to determine how many recognized they had a problem and whether they had previously received treatment for substance use problems. Almost 60% of the patients treated for a facial injury screened for problem alcohol use, and slightly more than 25% screened for problem drug use. Only approximately one third of patients indicated any movement towards dealing with these problems and of these, only 20% had actually sought treatment. Employment had an effect on treatment seeking, with fewer employed patients seeking help. Utilizing the critical window of opportunity for emergency department (ED) personnel to make referrals may have an impact on treatment seeking for problem level substance use.