The Cost-Effectiveness of Alcohol Screening, and Brief Intervention Essay

Introduction

• Miami (Florida) is a highly-populated area;
• According to statistics, 463,347 people reside in it;
• Approximately 25% of the population suffer from different forms of addiction and alcohol abuse is one of the leading problems on that list;
• Moreover, the statistics suggest that alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of health problems among residents (FHE Health, 2013);
• Importantly, Miami has quite a few educational institutions and universities that educate thousands of students. There have been severe cases of alcohol abuse observed among students, which lead to various health-related complications for young individuals (FHE Health, 2013). If the issue is not given due attention, it may lead to the development of various conditions, which will affect the lives of people in the long-term perspective and have a negative effect on the well-being of the population of Miami.

SBIRT description

• To detect or understand the severity of alcohol abuse in a patient within primary care settings, the healthcare specialist may utilize Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) methodology (Wamsley et al., 2018);
• It is a framework that assists in providing services to individuals at risk for alcohol-use disorders through early identification and further assistance;
• During the first step, the nurse asks the patient questions such as: “How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?” and “How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking” (Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, 2012, p.5);
• It is crucial to encourage a patient to open up and feel comfortable sharing their experience through the use of additional questions;
• During the second step, the patient is assessed for the severity of abuse;
• Step three implies brief intervention, and then the individual is referred for treatment if necessary (Barbosa et al., 2015);
• “SBIRT: Brief intervention: At risk alcohol use” is an educational video that shows practitioners techniques and approaches of how they may interact with their patient when evaluating them on alcohol abuse (UMBCtube, 2011);
• The video vividly shows that the nurse should remain unbiased and neutral while conducting SBIRT.

Problem Description

• Alcohol abuse is a chronic disease in which a person cannot control alcohol consumption despite the fact that this dependence affects various aspects of their life and has a negative impact on their physical and mental health;
• Regular alcohol consumption leads to a condition in which dopamine metabolism gradually changes, and a person ceases to experience pleasure without consuming alcohol (Wamsley, Satterfield, Curtis, Lundgren, & Satre, 2018);
• The physical and psychological dependence evolve to such degree that the individual, who decides to combat abuse, experiences withdrawal symptoms (Barbosa, Cowell, Bray, & Aldridge, 2015);
• This may be a severe problem in terms of Miami community because alcohol abuse may induce more than 30 health conditions;
• Such diseases as cancer, diabetes, liver and pancreatic diseases and traumatization are widely observed in the population, and alcohol abuse may be the main trigger of these conditions.

Community Resources

• Concept Health Systems, Inc. is a community resource available to residents of Miami;
• This is a non-profit organization providing its services since 1970;
• The agency provides help and support to individuals suffering not only from alcohol abuse but also from chemical dependency (Concept Health Systems, 2017);
• Alcoholics Anonymous is another service available to Miami residents;
• It is an online resource, which patients may use to receive help in the virtual environment or by contacting a local agency (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2019);
• The second option is suitable for individuals who feel ill at ease, contacting local organizations directly.

Conclusions

• Thus, inadequate alcohol consumption is a problem observed among Miami residents widely;
• SBIRT is a useful framework that may be used when assessing patients at risk of developing alcohol abuse and those who require referral to specialized services;
• However, an implication for the nursing practice should be concluded to an understanding that this tool is more helpful when evaluating patients showing unhealthy alcohol use;
• It is crucial that people abusing alcohol severely, require interdisciplinary intervention.

References

Alcoholics Anonymous. (2019). What is A.A.?

Barbosa, C., Cowell, A., Bray, J., & Aldridge, A. (2015). The cost-effectiveness of alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in emergency and outpatient medical settings. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 53, 1-8.

Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. (2012). SBIRT: A step-by-step guide.

Concept Health Systems. (2017). Our mission.

FHE Health. (2013). 8 facts about alcohol abuse in Miami.

UMBCtube. (2011). SBIRT: Brief intervention: At risk alcohol use [Video file].

Wamsley, M., Satterfield, J. M., Curtis, A., Lundgren, L., & Satre, D. D. (2018). Alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) training and implementation. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 12(4), 262-272.