Exploring the feasibility of a gambling harm screening model in general practice and community service settings in Fairfield: a pilot study

Andrew Reid; Nick McGhie; Thi Huyen Linh Nguyen; Uday Yadav; Patricia Cullen; Leon Booth; Amy Bestman

doi:10.1071/PY23208

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Exploring the feasibility of a gambling harm screening model in general practice and community service settings in Fairfield: a pilot study

Andrew Reid

^A ^B ^C ^D ^* , Nick McGhie

^E , Thi Huyen Linh Nguyen

^E , Uday Yadav

^F , Patricia Cullen

^G , Leon Booth

^H and Amy Bestman

^G ^I

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Centre for Health Equity, Training, Research and Evaluation (CHETRE), Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia.

^B Part of the UNSW Australia Research Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia.

^C A Unit of Population Health, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia.

^D Ingham Institute, Liverpool Hospital, Locked Bag 7103, Liverpool BC, NSW 1871, Australia.

^E South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia.

^F Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia.

^G School of Population Health, Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia.

^H The George Institute for Global Health, Barangaroo, NSW 2000, Australia.

^I School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: Andrew.Reid@health.nsw.gov.au

Australian Journal of Primary Health 30, PY23208 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY23208

Submitted: 3 November 2023 Accepted: 24 January 2024 Published: 15 February 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Gambling is a growing public health issue in Australia. However, limited research has examined the role of primary health care and social services in routine screening for gambling harm in Australia. This research aimed to explore the enablers and barriers to implementing a co-designed gambling screening model in Fairfield, New South Wales – an area with high gambling expenditure.

Methods

A co-designed gambling screening and referral model for GP and community-based organisations was implemented in Fairfield in 2020. Follow-up interviews were conducted with nine health care professionals who implemented the screening in 130 patients. Thematic analysis generated key barriers and enablers for implementation of this model.

Results

Key enablers for the screening model implementation included structural factors (alignment of the screening model with current work), process factors and staffing factors (staff empowerment). However, we also noted process factors as a barrier to implementation, particularly the referral pathway following screening. Other barriers included social and structural factors, such as the complexity of gambling harm and project funding.

Conclusions

Embedding routine screening in primary and community care settings can play a role in treating, reducing and preventing gambling-related harm, and reducing stigma in Fairfield and beyond. Additionally, screening models such as this provide health systems with clear evidence on the level of gambling harm in their community (particularly important in culturally and linguistically diverse communities who are underrepresented in research). This evidence is important for addressing system-level drivers of harm and advocating for political reform to reduce the impact of gambling on communities.

Keywords: culturally diverse communities, gambling harm, health services, implementation research, public health, qualitative methods, screening.

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