Background:

The patient admission procedure promotes alcohol and other drug users’ active involvement, as it considers their individual needs and social context.

Objective:

To examine patient admission to specialized services as a care strategy for alcohol and other drug users.

Methodology:

This observational, descriptive-exploratory, analytical, and quantitative study was conducted in a specialized service by collecting information from 708 patient admission instruments.

Results:

Nurses, social workers, and psychologists are responsible for admitting alcohol and other drug users. Users are predominantly male (69.8%), with incomplete elementary school education (40.5%), married or in a stable relationship (53.2%), without children (73.3%), employed (45.5%), and with a mean age of 42.67 years. The main precipitating factors for drug use are the influence of friends (52.1%), curiosity (22.3%), and fun and partying (15.7%).

Conclusion:

This study highlights the importance of filling out the patient admission instrument in preparing individual therapeutic plans, promoting comprehensive care, building a database, and studying users’ profiles to further the understanding of the drug use phenomenon.

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