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The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa
Introduction: Substance abuse has twice the mortality in United States anaesthesia- than non-anaesthesia residents. Since no data exist, the primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to establish the prevalence of substance use in South African anaesthesia practitioners. Secondary objectiv...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
2021
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| _version_ | 1867614306420391936 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | van Der Westhuizen, Justine |
| author2 | Dyer, Robert |
| author_browse | Dyer, Robert van Der Westhuizen, Justine |
| author_facet | Dyer, Robert van Der Westhuizen, Justine |
| author_sort | van Der Westhuizen, Justine |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Introduction: Substance abuse has twice the mortality in United States anaesthesia- than non-anaesthesia residents. Since no data exist, the primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to establish the prevalence of substance use in South African anaesthesia practitioners. Secondary objectives were to compare the prevalence in male and female practitioners, and in private- and state practice anaesthetists. Years of experience and level of training were explored as possible risk factors for hazardous or harmful use. Method: Participants completed a self-administered, validated WHO questionnaire, run for ten days surrounding the 2018 South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) congress. All doctors practicing anaesthesia in South Africa were eligible. Recruitment was via an email link sent to all SASA members, as well as a web-based link at the congress. Results: A total of 1961 SASA members and 113 non-members (anaesthesiologists, registrars and non-specialists) were invited to participate (total 2074). There were 434 responses (response rate 20.9%, margin of error 4.18%); 364 were suitable for analysis. The most commonly lifetime-used substances were alcohol (92.8%), tobacco (42.3%), cannabis (34.7%), and sedatives (34.4%). Questionnaire scores defined low-, medium- and high-risk categories according to substance use during the previous 3 months. Sedative (12.6%) and alcohol (12.1%) users were deemed to be at moderate risk. The prevalence of opioid use was 1.9% (n=7). Prevalence of substance use was similar in male and female practitioners, as well as in those working in private practice or in state hospitals. Conclusion: The prevalence of current use of alcohol and sedatives is of major concern. A significant proportion of respondents were assessed to be at moderate risk of hazardous or harmful substance use. Gender and practice setting have little impact on substance use. Wellness efforts should be aimed at all anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33087 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:49:56.986Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine |
| publisherStr | Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33087 The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa van Der Westhuizen, Justine Dyer, Robert Nejthardt, Marcin Anaesthesia Introduction: Substance abuse has twice the mortality in United States anaesthesia- than non-anaesthesia residents. Since no data exist, the primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to establish the prevalence of substance use in South African anaesthesia practitioners. Secondary objectives were to compare the prevalence in male and female practitioners, and in private- and state practice anaesthetists. Years of experience and level of training were explored as possible risk factors for hazardous or harmful use. Method: Participants completed a self-administered, validated WHO questionnaire, run for ten days surrounding the 2018 South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) congress. All doctors practicing anaesthesia in South Africa were eligible. Recruitment was via an email link sent to all SASA members, as well as a web-based link at the congress. Results: A total of 1961 SASA members and 113 non-members (anaesthesiologists, registrars and non-specialists) were invited to participate (total 2074). There were 434 responses (response rate 20.9%, margin of error 4.18%); 364 were suitable for analysis. The most commonly lifetime-used substances were alcohol (92.8%), tobacco (42.3%), cannabis (34.7%), and sedatives (34.4%). Questionnaire scores defined low-, medium- and high-risk categories according to substance use during the previous 3 months. Sedative (12.6%) and alcohol (12.1%) users were deemed to be at moderate risk. The prevalence of opioid use was 1.9% (n=7). Prevalence of substance use was similar in male and female practitioners, as well as in those working in private practice or in state hospitals. Conclusion: The prevalence of current use of alcohol and sedatives is of major concern. A significant proportion of respondents were assessed to be at moderate risk of hazardous or harmful substance use. Gender and practice setting have little impact on substance use. Wellness efforts should be aimed at all anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa. 2021-03-03T01:58:49Z 2021-03-03T01:58:49Z 2020 2021-03-02T16:15:09Z Master Thesis Masters MMed http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33087 eng application/pdf Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences |
| spellingShingle | Anaesthesia van Der Westhuizen, Justine The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa |
| title_full | The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa |
| title_short | The prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in South Africa |
| title_sort | prevalence of substance use in anaesthesia practitioners in south africa |
| topic | Anaesthesia |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33087 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vanderwesthuizenjustine theprevalenceofsubstanceuseinanaesthesiapractitionersinsouthafrica AT vanderwesthuizenjustine prevalenceofsubstanceuseinanaesthesiapractitionersinsouthafrica |