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This qualitative study aimed to learn the conceptions and attitude tendencies of nurses from public district basic health units towards alcohol, alcoholism and alcohol addicts. The sample consisted of ten nurses from three institutions in a city located in São Paulo. Data were recorded and submitted to content thematic analysis. Subjects evidenced that these nurses are permissive towards moderate alcohol use, but reject alcoholism, conceiving it as a potentially fatal disease, and tend to associate it to personal will, indicating the influence of the moral concept on their conceptions and attitudes. The participating nurses' knowledge about the topics alcohol and alcoholism was also evidenced. Based on the results, the authors suggest training this group and preparing these professionals for the care, recognition and prevention of disorders related to alcohol use/ abuse at these health centers.DESCRIPTORS: health centers; nurses, male; alcoholism; attitudes ALCOHOL, ALCOHOLISMO Y ALCOHÓLICO: CONCEPCIONES Y ACTITUDES DE ENFERMEROS DE SERVICIOS PÚBLICOS DE ATENCIÓN BÁSICA DE SALUDEse estudio cualitativo tiene el objetivo de conocer las concepciones y tendencias de actitud de enfermeros de servicios públicos de atención básica de salud, ante el alcohol, alcoholismo y el alcohólico.Participaron diez enfermeros de tres instituciones de una municipalidad del estado de São Paulo. Los datos fueron recolectados mediante registros autograbados y sometidos al análisis temático de contenido. Los temas que emergieron evidenciaron que los enfermeros son permisivos al uso moderado de alcohol, pero rechazan el alcoholismo, concibiéndolo como una enfermedad que puede ser fatal y tienden a asociarlo con la voluntad personal, indicando la influencia del concepto moral en sus concepciones y actitudes. También se evidenció el conocimiento de los enfermeros participantes sobre el alcohol y alcoholismo. Con base en los resultados, se sugiere la capacitación de ese grupo, preparándolo para la atención, el reconocimiento y la prevención de trastornos relacionados al uso/abuso de alcohol en esos centros de salud. DESCRIPTORES: centros de salud; enfermeros; alcoholismo; actitudes ÁLCOOL, ALCOOLISMO E ALCOOLISTA: CONCEPÇÕES E ATITUDES DE ENFERMEIROS DE UNIDADES BÁSICAS DISTRITAIS DE SAÚDE

The others (6)(7) aimed to evaluate the attitudes of these professionals towards alcohol and the alcoholics.The most usual instrument in Brazil to measure the nurses' attitudes is Seaman Mannello Nurses's Attitudes Toward Alcohol and Alcoholism Scale (8) .Translated and validated in the country (5) , it is a scale consisting of 30 items, distributed in five factors, which cover, among other aspects, the perceptions of the alcoholics and their attitudes towards drinking.A brief analysis of the results obtained with the application of Seaman Mannello in the Brazilian studies (6-7) revealed, among other aspects, that nurses conceived alcoholism as a disease, and that alcoholics were ill people, revealing positive attitudes. However, negative attitudes were predominant in nurses regarding working with this clientele (6)(7)9) . When the authors (5-6) evaluated the use of this scale, they noted some limitations. Among them, never having been published integrally; few existing studies about its psychometric properties (5) and the inexistence of satisfactory studies on its cross-cultural adaptation for application in Brazil (10) , which makes it unsatisfactory for usage in the country -the main justification for the construction of a new attitude scale (11) .The classical theories about attitudes (12) define this construct as predispositions. In order to respond to a given set of stimuli with a given set of answers, an attitude can thus be defined as an acquired and lasting predisposition to always act the same way towards a given class of objects, or a persistent mental/neural state of readiness to respond to a given class of objects, not as they are, but as they are conceived (12) .Observing the lack of instruments to evaluate

This is a descriptive study about the formation of nurses regarding to the drug phenomenon. It was conducted with last periods students of Nursing Schools from five Federal Educational Institutions in southern Brazil. It presents and discusses Nursing students attitudes and beliefs about care, when facing the drug phenomenon. The data collection happened from October 2003 to February 2004, with intentional sample constituted of 105 students. An instrument was applied to them, with a scale asking about nurses attitudes and beliefs regarding to alcoholism and drugs. The study showed that the students understand knowledge about the drug phenomenon as fundamental to the profession, and they incorporate the care of people involved with psychoactive substances, as nurses role. The study also showed clearly a disarticulation between theory and practice, course s contents centered on medical and moral models, and interpersonal communication difficulties.

Se trata de un estudio psicometrico para evaluar actitudes de enfermeras de un complejo hospitalario con relación al paciente alcohólico. Participaron 71 enfermeras de Hospitales públicos de la Paz, Bolivia. Se utilizó para recolectar datos la escala SEAMAN MANNLLO (Nurses' Atittudes Toward Alcohol and Alcohol), compuesta por cinco subescalas. Los resultados indicaron que las enfermeras concuerdan que la vida del alcohólico es desagradable, no siendo el paciente de su preferencia, creen que merecen atención de enfermería como otros pero indican indiferencia cuanto a sentirse cómodas en esa atención, aunque afirmaron disposición para ayudarlo. Se percibe a los alcohólicos como personas sensibles, tienen la opinión que consumir bebidas alcohólicas convierten las personas normales en débiles y tontas, lo que es arriesgado porque conceptualizan al alcohólico como paciente grave e irrecuperable. Tales datos señalaron las actitudes de las enfermeras reflejan entorno personal, profesional y probablemente la formación de enfermería sobre ese tema.