| The investigation explored alcohol and psychoactive substance use among a normal population of nurses for the purposes of having a better understanding about the patterns of psychoactive substance use and the identification of risk factors which may contribute to impairment for some nurses. Particular attention was paid to the impact stress factors may have in substance use overall. The central question addressed by this study was: What are the patterns of stress, alcohol, and psychoactive drug use by a randomly selected group of normal, registered nurses, with particular emphasis on working nurses, and can these patterns be used to identify risk factors in order to more accurately estimate the extent of the problem among all practicing nurses?;Detailed analysis was conducted for all nurses and working nurses on multiple dimensions of the questionnaire. Results were determined for the following: (1) Description of the Sample; (2) Patterns of Alcohol Use and Associated Stress Factors; (3) Patterns of Psychoactive Drug Use and Associated Stress Factors; (4) Patterns of Combined Alcohol and Drug Use and Associated Stress Factors; (5) General Description of Other Populations of Interest: Male Nurses and Impaired Nurses; (6) Comparative Analysis of Nurses, Physicians, Medical Students, Pharmacists, and Pharmacy Students.;Nurses reported low use of alcohol overall, high use of psychoactive drugs for therapeutic purposes, and low incidence of current alcohol dependence. Use of alcohol and drugs by those nurses who became dependent was associated with history of family problems and smoking habit. Applying the at risk formula for impairment used by McAuliffe et al. in their work with physicians and medical students, nurses in this study were found to be at much higher risk for impairment, as compared with physicians and medical students. The large difference was related to nurses' use of therapeutic drugs, particularly those utilized by prescription.;In conclusion, prevalence of impairment among this group of nurses was less than expected. However, health policy and economic recommendations emphasize the need for prevention, increased awareness of the problem, and the addressing of the complex productivity issues involved in impaired nursing practice. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.). |
