Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/37060
Appears in Collections:Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Exploring views and experiences of a unique alcohol assertive outreach model, the Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service (PCANOS): a qualitative study
Author(s): Sharp, Clare
Mohan, Andrea
Mitchell, Danielle
Fitzgerald, Niamh
Contact Email: niamh.fitzgerald@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Alcohol
Alcohol nurse
Service engagement
Assertive outreach
Date Deposited: 7-May-2025
Citation: Sharp C, Mohan A, Mitchell D & Fitzgerald N (2025) Exploring views and experiences of a unique alcohol assertive outreach model, the Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service (PCANOS): a qualitative study. <i>BMC Primary Care</i>.
Abstract: Background There are recognised barriers to engagement with mainstream alcohol services for certain groups within populations. Alcohol assertive outreach is an approach that uses repeated, persistent and flexible methods to engage with patients with alcohol problems from these groups. There are few qualitative studies that explore how alcohol assertive outreach services are experienced by stakeholders. This study focuses on a unique service, The Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service (PCANOS), that operated in Glasgow, Scotland and which involved Alcohol Nurses working closely with general practices. Methods Twenty-three semi-structured qualitative interviews were used to explore staff and patient views and experiences of PCANOS. Interviews were conducted with 18 staff (nine general practice staff, five alcohol nurses, and four strategic staff ) and seven patients from across six Deep End general practices. Results Findings from this study suggest that PCANOS has the potential to engage patients who may have difficulties engaging with mainstream alcohol treatment services. Through PCANOS, the Alcohol Nurses, in collaboration with General Practitioners and other practice staff, were able to engage patients and deliver a flexible, person-centred care service that impacted positively on patients’ drinking behaviour and general health and wellbeing. Conclusions PCANOS was a unique alcohol assertive outreach service that had the potential to engage with people from the most deprived communities in Glasgow, who were not engaging with the mainstream services. Further research could examine the potential benefits of services like PCANOS, including patient outcomes, the economic impact on the wider healthcare system, and its transferability to other settings such as rural areas.
Rights: © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/



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