Factors influencing whether nurses talk to somatic patients about their alcohol consumption
Sammanfattning
AIM: Many Danes drink so much that it is detrimental to their health. As they are at risk of
suffering diseases which can lead to hospitalisation on somatic wards, hospitals are ideal arenas for
identifying individuals whose alcohol consumption is excessive. However, literature points out that
this identification rarely takes place in hospitals, and literature further suggests that the staff
experience barriers to talking about alcohol use with their patients. The primary aim of this study is
to identify potential factors that influence whether or not nurses talk to patients about their alcohol
consumption on somatic wards. Secondarily, we wish to examine whether a screening project may
affect the nurses’ readiness to talk about alcohol use with their patients.
METHODS: A Glaserian Grounded Theory Method was used to collect and analyse data in this
qualitative study. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with seven nurses from
somatic departments at two Danish hospitals. All seven nurses were already taking part in an alcohol
screening project.
RESULTS: In the analysis of the interview material, four categories emerged: The Nurse, The Patient,
The Ward and The Relay Study.
CONCLUSION: We identified a series of barriers and promoting factors for nurses to talk about
alcohol use with patients in a hospital setting. The barriers and promoting factors emerged within four
categories: The Nurse, The Patient, The Ward, and The Relay Study. The most important barrier to
talking to patients about alcohol seemed to be factors within the nurses themselves, in particular
personal experiences, lack of knowledge and lack of confidence. We found, however, that by
participating in a screening project the nurses seemed to overcome some of these barriers.