The care of alcohol and other drug users by Family Health nurses

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.5216/ree.v14i2.11245

This exploratory-descriptive study was performed using a qualitative approach, with the objective to identify how Family Health nurses address the issue of alcohol and other drugs. Semi-structured interviews were performed with eight nurses. Most participants consider that this topic is included in the everyday work of the teams, because it is a public health problem with social effects. The detection of users in the community is usually made by Community Health Agents or by the users’ relatives. They consider that the users’ desire to undergo rehabilitation and their attachment to healthcare professionals are indispensible for effective treatment. The identified challenges include the lack of knowledge in regards to detecting and caring for users, in addition to the difficulty in establishing a relationship with them. It is emphasized that there is a need to prepare primary healthcare nurses to work with  users of alcohol and other drugs.