Caring for alcohol‐intoxicated patients in an emergency department from the nurses’ point of view – focus on attitudes and skills

Abstract

Caring for alcohol-intoxicated patients in an emergency department from the nurses' point of view focus on attitudes and skills Background: Healthcare professionals have a key role in detecting health risks from alcohol use. The earlier the alcohol misuse is identified and addressed, the lower the risk of harm and the need for actual drug treatment. Positive attitudes and high motivation on the part of nurses are needed for achieving success in the care of intoxicated patients. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe nurses' skills to care for and attitudes towards the care of patients with alcohol intoxication in emergency departments (EDs). Method: The data were collected from nursing staff who participated in online training related to the care of alcohol-intoxicated patients in the EDs (N = 20, n = 17). As part of the training, nurses wrote two essays. The essays made up the data of this study which were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: Three main categories emerged from the nurses' descriptions of their skills in caring for and attitudes towards the care of patients with alcohol intoxication: nurse's lack of commitment to intoxicated patient care; nurse's commitment to intoxicated patient care; and nurse's skills in intervention methods. Conclusion: Many different factors influence nurses' commitment or lack of commitment in the care of intoxicated patients. Nurses' attitudes and skills are linked to the success of care of intoxicated patients in ED. Implications for nursing of alcohol-intoxicated patients: Increasing awareness of alcohol-related issues seems to help nurses to understand better the situation of a patient with alcohol intoxication, make their attitudes more positive and help them to use the intervention methods.

Internal validity evidence of a knowledge questionnaire on alcohol use, abuse and dependence and associated questions

“…Studies that assessed the knowledge and skills in caring for individuals with alcohol-related disorders corroborate these findings, pointing out that there are difficulties in identifying patterns of use and in approaching this population ( 4 - 5 ) . Furthermore, investigations carried out with health professionals ( 6 - 7 ) indicate that there is a lack of knowledge about the implementation of interventions that minimize the main impacts on the health of people who make problematic use of alcoholic beverages.…”

“…Thus, in future tests, it can be presented the written item in different way so that if it can have evidences on this possibility. On the other hand, such items belong to the categories psychosocial approaches and pattern of use, themes that have already been evidenced in scientific production ( 4 ) as deficient in the training of health professionals.…”

Evidências de validade interna de um questionário de conhecimento sobre o uso, abuso e dependência de álcool e questões associadas

“…Estudos que avaliaram o conhecimento e as habilidades na assistência aos indivíduos com transtornos relacionados ao uso abusivo e dependência de álcool corroboram essas constatações, apontando que há dificuldades na identificação dos padrões de uso e na abordagem dessa população (4)(5) . Além disso, investigações realizadas com profissionais de saúde (6)(7) indicam que há falta de conhecimento sobre a implementação de intervenções que minimizem os principais impactos na saúde de pessoas que fazem uso problemático de bebidas alcoólicas.…”

“…Assim, em testes futuros, pode-se apresentar os itens redigidos de maneira diferente, a fim de que se possa ter evidências sobre essa possibilidade. Por outro lado, tais itens pertencem às categorias abordagens psicossociais e padrão de uso, temáticas que já têm sido evidenciadas na produção científica (4) como deficientes na formação dos profissionais de saúde.…”

The effectiveness of a web-based education program for nurses’ self-assessed skills concerning the care of alcohol-intoxicated patients in an emergency department

“…This requires specific competence on the part of emergency department (ED) staff on how to treat alcohol abusers because it has been estimated that in about one in every three cases, ED patients' reasons for seeking treatment are related to alcohol [12]. The skills needed to care for patients of this kind in the ED include positive attitude, knowledge and experience of alcohol risk users' care and alcohol risk use evaluation skills [13]. Based on earlier research, web-based education is a useful way to improve the skills mentioned above [2].…”