Alcohol education revisited: exploring how much time we devote to alcohol education in the nursing curriculum

This study examines student nurses knowledge, attitudes and educational preparation to work with patients who misuse alcohol. The study begins to quantify how much time is devoted to alcohol education at one Scottish University.

The study modified the Short Alcohol Attitudes Problem Perception Questionnaire (SAAPPQ) and incorporated three case vignettes to examine the student nurses knowledge, attitudes and experience of working with patients who have an alcohol problem. The questionnaire was hand delivered to a convenience sample of third year nursing students.

The results show that the student nurses exhibit positive attitudes and beliefs about working with patients who have an alcohol misuse problem. A series of significant associations was found between the adult nursing cohort and their ability to include a comprehensive alcohol history in their nursing assessments (χ(2) = 19.82, df = 4, p < 0.0005); recognise signs of acute alcohol withdrawal (χ(2) = 52.26, df = 16, p < 0.000); and the psychological signs associated with alcohol misuse (χ(2) = 41.81, df = 16, p < 0.000). A baseline figure of 2.5 h of alcohol education is noted at this university.

Alcohol education strongly features in three out of the five nursing programmes surveyed. Nurse education needs to focus on strategies that extend to teaching nurses how to respond, provide brief interventions and identify when to refer the patient for specialist intervention. These approaches should be universal to all areas of nursing practice.