Abstract
Background | With the emergence of the profession of an addictologist, the need to improve communication between professionals in the field and towards the public has increased. As part of the comprehensive institutional infrastructure, the professional organisation the Czech Association of Addictologists (CAA) addresses topics related to the profession of an addictologist.
Aims | One aim of the study was to describe the involvement of addictology graduates in the CAA and employers' experience with the functioning of this association. Another goal was to compare the implications of the different statuses and roles of two professional organisations, the CAA and the Czech Medical Chamber (CLK).
Methods | The research sample consisted of addictology graduates from the years 2005-2016. Out of the total number of 279 graduates, 165 (59.1%) were involved and so were 18 employers representing addictological services (out of 24 that were approached).
The data was obtained using a questionnaire survey involving semi-structured interviews. The data processing was carried out using MS Excel and IBM SPSS 22, utilising coding with annotation, sorting, and categorisation.
Ethical aspects were respected. Results | 51% of the respondents working in the field of addictology were members of the CAA.
Those who had completed the follow-up master's degree programme were members in only 12.5% of cases, while graduates of the entire academic programme in addictology (both the BA and MA levels) were members in 63.4% of cases. There were more members among the respondents who had worked in the field while studying.
The membership seems to grow with the length of work experience in the field. Seven organisations had CAA members among their employees.
The employers did not have accurate information about the status and role of the CAA. Conclusion | The purpose of the comparison of two legally different platforms associating professionals, the CAA and CLK, was to raise the awareness of the professional public about their roles, rights, and obligations.
The results underline the importance of the CAA for the addictology field and provoke discussion about the promotion of CAA membership and education about its benefits.