Review of literature
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AlcoholAbuseToolkitproposal.docxRunning head: ALCOHOL ABUSE TOOLKIT 2
Alcohol Abuse Toolkit
Elizabeth Bernal
Keiser University
Alcohol abuse consequences such as adverse health and social outweigh those of other substance abuse combined. There is a need to reduce morbidity and mortality related to alcohol abuse. According to Parker, Marshall and Ball (2008), there are three different types of alcohol use disorders: Hazardous drinking, harmful drinking and dependent drinking. Hazardous drinking is defined as a person who is consuming alcohol to a level that will eventually cause the person physical harm. Harmful drinking is when one has been consuming alcohol to the point when the body is starting to show physical or mental harm this may be acute or chronic conditions. Lastly, dependent drinking is when one has trouble overcoming the desire to drink and usually consumes alcohol daily. When alcohol is not consumed, they can have physiological withdrawal symptoms. In order to help alcohol dependent patients, nurses must first understand what kind of drinker the patient is in order to formulate the proper teaching tools to help this patient and keep them engaged in both the teaching and learning process. (Parker et. al, 2008).
This section gives the tools required to understand the factors that force a person to engage in excessive alcohol consumption. There is a close connection between alcoholism and biological factors, particularly genetics and physiology. They include genetics which accounts for 50% of the chances for a person to develop an addiction. Changes to the cerebral cortex of the brain also impair decision-making hence increases the likelihood of a person to take alcohol. Mental illnesses also have a close link to alcohol abuse. Alcohol is used to suppress emotions and relieve the symptoms of psychological disorders. The factors that make a person more vulnerable to developing alcoholism include depression, anxiety, high stress, anger, decreased sleep, illogical thoughts. Environmental factors can also influence the behavior of a person during his development and growth. These factors include religion, job-status, age, education, and income (Backman et al., 2016).
Sociocultural factors can also force the entire population to be vulnerable to alcohol addiction. Cultural and social values guide an individual’s behavior and social interactions. The factors include customs lifestyles, values and attitudes. Pleasurable emotions and feelings relate to alcohol abuse in which behavioral practices make a person develop alcoholism behaviors gradually over time (Backman et al., 2016). These behavioral factors include making excuses to drink, alcohol cravings, making excuses to gain courage and the ability to control alcohol intake (Backman et al., 2016).
How health systems are designed, and function determines an individuals’ alcohol abuse behaviors. If these systems cannot provide quality care services, a patient may opt for alcohol abuse to suppress depression and stress resulting from the illness. The factors include ineffective therapeutic treatments and non-people-based health systems. There are several interventions that can be taught to all patients who consume alcohol no matter the amount. Avoid drinking alcohol at home, sip the drink slowly and do not binge drink, refuse alcoholic beverages and request for other non-alcoholic drink when socializing and avoid drinking after a stressful day (Backman et al., 2016).
Backman, O., Stockeld, D., Rasmussen, F., Näslund, E., & Marsk, R. (2016). Alcohol and substance abuse, depression and suicide attempts after Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass surgery. British journal of surgery, 103(10), 1336-1342.
Parker, A. J. R., Marshall, E. J., and Ball, D. M. (2008). Diagnosis and management of alcohol use disorders. BMJ 336(1), 496-501. doi:10.1136/bmj.39483.457708.80
