[Nurses' knowledge of alcohol-related problems and their treatment: a comparison of nurses in general hospital and alcoholism treatment units].
Nurses have the most contact with patients in the clinical settings, and they play an important role in the guidance and education of patients. Nurses' basic knowledge of alcohol-related problems greatly influences early discovery of and early intervention against alcohol-related problems in general units (GU). In a study undertaken mainly to understand the status of nurses' knowledge in GU, a survey was performed to compare the knowledge and attitude of nurses working in GU and those with working in units specializing in the treatment of alcoholism (AU). For reference, we used the results of separate surveys performed previously on the general population. The results showed that, compared with nurses in AU, nurses in GU (1) were more tolerant of drinking, but (2) were more stigmatic concerning alcoholism, and (3) had little knowledge concerning alcohol-related problems. Nurses in GU tended to have less knowledge about alcohol-related problems than the general population. Moreover, the knowledge of nurses in AU could not be considered sufficient. This study suggested the need for basic education concerning alcohol-related problems and their treatment aimed at nurses.
National Institute on Alcoholism, Kurihama National Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan.
N
N
Hisatomi
K
K
Ito
Y
Y
Nagashima
K
K
Fujiwara
K
K
Yasuda
T
T
Ashizawa
M
M
Sato
S
S
Higuchi
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires