Introduction:

Primary health care represents the ideal setting for screening and treatment of patients with Alcohol-Related Problems. This study aims to assess the attitudes of the participants of the School of General Practice (GP) Spring 2016 concerning ARP and compare the attitudes of the participants of the Alcohology course with participants from other courses.

Material and Methods:

We assessed the attitudes of the participants using the Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire (SAAPPQ). We investigated associations between sex, age, and workplace, and with results from SAAPPQ.

Results:

Two hundred and fifty eligible questionnaires were obtained. The average age was 28.1 ± 2.2 years old and 86.2% were female. The most represented workplace was Lisbon and Vale do Tejo. Pre-course, GPs’ attitudes of both groups were homogeneous except on Adequacy and Role Security. The participants of the Alcohology course feel more secure in working with these patients. However, only 65% scored above midpoint in Therapeutic Commitment. Post-course, there were significantly higher values in all subscales for participants of the Alcohology course, with all scoring above midpoint in Safety and Therapeutic Commitment.

Discussion:

The attitudes of the participants of the Alcohology course towards patients with ARP significantly improved after training in all evaluated subscales.

Conclusions:

Courses that take into account not only GP’s knowledge and skills, but also other attitudes, may be important to improve screening and treatment of patients with ARP. Explicit curricular attention to Self-esteem and Satisfaction may be required to improve further results.

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