Alcohol, alcoholism and alcohol addicts: conceptions and attitudes of nurses from district basic health centers

Abstract

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

Atendimento ao alcoolista em serviços de atenção primária à saúde: percepções e condutas do enfermeiro

“…We consider that these workers pay little attention to this issue, due to lack of technical preparation (13) , or because attention to these problems is not prioritized by health services, especially in this study with primary care (18) . This does not mean that lighter problems because of alcohol use are not present in these units (5)(6) .…”

“…A study12 showing the opinions of nurses on drug users, demonstrated that they are predominantly viewed as sick and victims of social conditions. Another study (13) carried out with nurses from district UBS showed that nurses lacked knowledge about the problematic. Nurses were permissive with alcohol use; however, they were against excessive drinking.…”

“…Overall, we may say that in the last years, several studies have been published on nurses and the issue of alcohol and alcoholism (12)(13)(14)(15) . However, most of them have studied nurses in hospital units (14)(15) , which a lack of studies with nurses in primary health care.…”

Implementação de intervenções breves para uso problemático de álcool na atenção primária, em um contexto amazônico

“…A falta de treinamento de profissionais para lidar com o consumo problemático de bebidas alcoólicas já vem sendo levantada em outros estudos, necessitando de ações que lidem com essa demanda (12)(13)(14) . Dado que também chamou a atenção foi a maior prevalência de uso de álcool e padrões problemáticos entre homens, indicando necessidade de ações específicas para essa população que recorre menos aos serviços de saúde, inclusive, achado compatível com outros estudos (15) .…”

Estoy sola: la experiencia de las enfermeras en el cuidado del usuario de alcohol y drogas

“…Some health care workers have a negative attitude towards the patient and the evolution of his or her clinical features (11)(12)(13) . Although this is an important subject, few studies have addressed it (14)(15) .…”