Alcohol abuse in Victoria, South Australia - Essay Example

?Harris Kamran Nursing Case Study 23 August Alcohol abuse in Victoria/South Australia Introduction: The addressing of health issues in a community is paramount to the overall stability and wellbeing of that community. In the recent years, alcoholism and alcohol abuse have also been termed as medical cases, since they result in complicated health issues and medical emergencies. This paper purports to analyze the prevalence of alcohol abuse in the Victorian community and the community of the South Australia in an effort to highlight the issues related to the management of the problem of alcohol abuse in the area so that measures could be taken to improve the condition. Risk Factors and Statistics: According to the Victorian Drug Statistics Handbook of 2007 (Rood, 2009), the majority of the people related to alcohol abuse are the young adults of ages 18-24 (Rood, 2009), with 64% drinking yearly (Rood, 2009). Out of these, the majority of the drinkers are adult males (Rood, 2009). Even in the younger demographics, the ratio of people using alcohol to get drunk is a high one in five (Rood, 2009). Role of Health Professionals (Doctors and Nurses): The issue of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs has wide spread ramifications in the society, effecting many sectors and involving many structures and organizations. One of the most important role in this regard is played by the health professionals. The health professionals have a two-pronged involvement on this issue: the treatment of the effected individuals through the process of rehabilitation and counseling (Rood, 2009), and the spread of awareness campaigns aimed at prevention of this abuse (Biondo, 2010) so that there is an over all decline in the abuse of alcohol by the youth. Let us examine each role of the health professionals one by one. The most potent job that the these professionals are expected to perform is that of the treatment of the patients who are suffering from the effects of alcohol abuse (Rood, 2009). Since the target of this abuse if mainly the youth (Rood, 2009), as described previously, many of the rehabilitation schemes are also targeted towards the said sector of the demographics of South Australia. Alcohol abuse is essentially not a disease, in that it does not require treatment through the use of drugs by the doctors, although it is considered to be one according to the modern medical literature (Department of Health, 2011). The only possible treatment is that of rehabilitation and psychological therapy (Department of Health, 2011). The current statistics put the number of inpatient visits dedicated to alcohol abuse patients at more than twenty four thousand seven hundred (Rood, 2009). Considering the nature of the disease, in that it is purely preventable, this is a huge percentage of visits to be dedicated to such a cause. This statistic alone shows the prevalence and the gravity of this issue in the South Australia. It is unfortunate that the success rate of these habilitation centers is not as high as would have been expected or desired (Biondo, 2010). This is not due to negligence or incompetence on the part of the health professionals, rather this is inherent in the nature of the treatment itself. The success of therapy greatly and substantially depends upon the willingness and will power of the patient himself (Biondo, 2010), and there is little that a doctor can do if this willingness is absent in the patient that he is treating. The prevalence of this social issue in Victoria means that the youth is greatly at risk of social and moral deconstruction (Biondo, 2010), and if the rehabilitation programs fail to handle the situation, the society at large would be at risk. Therefore, the health professionals in this area shoulder a particularly great responsibility. The other limb of the role of health professionals in this regard is their active participation in anti-drinking campaigns and awareness programs of targeted at the youth. It is generally viewed that such campaigns are particularly weak in Victoria (Biondo, 2010), and there is much that needs to be improved in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of these awareness schemes. A detailed discussion of the preventative measures currently practiced in the South Australia in order to battle the spreading social evil of alcohol abuse is presented later in the paper. For the moment, it should be noted that the responsibility of the success of such campaigns is not the sole responsibility of the government or the private organizations; the doctors and other health professionals have an equally, if not more, important role to play in this regard (Biondo, 2010), since prevention of a disease is considered to be a part of the treatment of the disease, and this vocation falls under the supervision of the health professionals. A weak healthcare structure would mean a weak effort at prevention (Biondo, 2010). Although the healthcare system provides for the rehabilitation and therapy of the patients in South Australia (Department of Health, 2011), the stress is often misplaced, as it largely neglects the efforts for prevention of this issue. If more funds and personnel are directed towards the prevention schemes (Biondo, 2010), the over all health of the society is expected to improve much more rapidly than just through the programs of rehabilitation. Healthcare Related Statistics: The local doctors and nurses are the first line of defense with regard to the worsening of problems related to the abuse of alcohol and the development of complications as a result of this abuse (Biondo, 2010). This is because, every day, these health professionals are inundated with patients of alcohol abuse, and victims of assaults and fights occurring as a result of alcohol abuse. In the year 2005-2006, there has been a 6% increase in the inpatient visits related to alcohol abuse in Victoria as compared to the previous year (Rood, 2009). The ambulatory calls, related to drunk individuals or victims of assault due to drunkenness, doubled in the year 2006 as compared to 2002 (Rood, 2009), reaching a number of 4805 in the year 2006 alone (Rood, 2009), with the majority of the victims being males (Rood, 2009). The government has introduced steps towards a better management of such statistics by the doctors and nurses in the form of plans and policies that are aimed at better training and awareness of doctors in the matter of dealing with issues of alcohol abuse by incorporating special education in their medical training, though a four year plan (Rood, 2009). This would place the doctors and nurses in a better position to deal with the issues of alcohol abuse in Victoria. Outcome and Social Impact of Alcohol Abuse: The prevalence of alcohol abuse in Victoria among the young adults and the teenagers has resulted in an increased violence and unrest on the streets, especially in the time periods in which this drinking practice is at its peak (Biondo, 2010). This is especially true of the Friday and Saturday nights in Victoria (Rood, 2009), when the party goers and the heavy drinkers are at their best in terms of drinking marathon. The subsequent brawls and fights rise in a direct relationship to the drinking habits of this sector of population. It is common to see fights erupting in nightclubs and on dance floors (Biondo, 2010), unsupervised parties that veer out of control (Biondo, 2010) and result in a multitude of problems such as assault, physical and verbal abuse (Biondo, 2010), and sexual abuse and unwanted sexual practices (Rood, 2009). According to an estimate, 66% of the victims of these alcohol infused fights are males (Rood, 2009), while the majority of the sexually abused victims as a result of alcohol abuse are females. According to the Drugs Statistics Handbook (Rood, 2009), there has been a ten percent increase in the assaults related to the alcohol drinking practices in Friday and Saturday nights in the 2005-2006 period as compared to the previous year (Rood, 2009), amounting the assaults to a total ratio of one in four out of the twenty six thousand assaults in the said period recorded by the local police (Rood, 2009). This in itself gives a clear picture of the quality of life in Victoria for the younger population, especially in the high alcohol periods. The government, however, does not address the personal and family issues related to these high incidences of alcohol abuse (Biondo, 2010). The majority of the problems lie at home where the drunk population harms and hurts the family members and friends both mentally and emotionally (Biondo, 2010). Such a negative impact on the community at large results in emotionally challenged and disturbed individuals, further increasing the abuse of alcohol as an escape route from the prevalent problems (Biondo, 2010). Addressing these issues would ultimately help control the problem of alcohol abuse in the community. Preventative Measures by the Government Through Upstream and Midstream Interventions: In light of the prevalence of the problem of alcohol abuse among the youth in Victoria, the Victorian government and several non-profit organizations and privately run operations have taken multiple steps to counter the threat of increased abuse by the young people, and the subsequent violence and problems caused by this abuse that has become rampant in the Victorian society (Department of Health, 2011). The approach that is adopted is a concerted effort by the involved parties at both curative and preventative measures (Department of Health, 2011), comprising the upstream interventional techniques aimed at introducing policies that would effect the community at large and gear it towards healthier standards (Planning for healthy communities, n.d.). The government has also introduced midstream interventional techniques that aim at changing the structure of some of its specific organizations in order to create a healthier environment (Brownson, Seiler, & Eyler, 2010). Upstream Interventions: In 2008, the Minister for Community Service, Lisa Neville (Rood, 2009), introduced an action plan targeted at reducing the incidence of alcohol abuse among the youth (Rood, 2009), termed the Alcohol Action Plan, worth $37.2 million (Rood, 2009). This plan has several features that are not only related to the misuse of alcohol, but also to the abuse of other drugs such as cannabis and heroine (Rood, 2009). One of the features of this program is the introduction of treated drugs in the general market so that they have less effect on the consumers as compared to the genuine drugs (Rood, 2009). This integrated plan is hoped to attack the problem of over all misuse and abuse of drugs in Victoria, so that results can be obtained faster than by targeting just one specific type of drug abuse. Midstream Intervention: The increased violence related to the abuse of alcohol has resulted in the release of $11 million dollars by the Government (Rood, 2009) for increased police force on the streets to prevent crimes related to alcohol abuse (Rood, 2009). It is targeted at recruiting around a hundred and fifty more policemen in the CBD division of Melbourne (Rood, 2009), so that specific and highly concentrated police protection could be provided to the residents of this area against attacks by drunk teenagers and young adults. Preventative Measures by Department of Health (Through Doctors and Nurses) Through Downstream Interventions: The Victorian Department of Health has taken several measures in order to combat the prevalence of alcohol abuse among the young adults (Department of Health, 2011). There are a total of twelve most important and potent services that are available to the patients and victims of drug abuse (Department of Health, 2011) in order to minimize the risk of developing alcohol related complications in the society (Rood, 2009). These measures constitute the downstream interventional techniques adopted by the government through the Health Department by targeting the individuals rather than the system as a whole (Planning for healthy communities, n.d.). Downstream Interventions: These measures include withdrawal services (Department of Health, 2011) to help patients shun the habit of alcohol abuse through therapy and counseling_ this program is further divided into residential withdrawal, home-based withdrawal, and rural withdrawal (Department of Health, 2011), depending upon where the treatment is taking place and the nature of the treatment being offered; a residential rehabilitation program (Department of Health, 2011) that offers rehabilitation services at home and at any other place as chosen by the patient and his family; general counseling services (Department of Health, 2011) that are targeted at the wider spectrum of patients so that maximum coverage could be given to the patients in all areas of the location, and suffering from almost all types of drug abuse_ the aim is the same as the Alcohol Action Plan (Rood, 2009), in that by providing an integrated approach to rid the community of drug abuse of all types, better and more rapid results would be obtained than by simply targeting a specific type of drug abuse; consultancy and continuing care services (Department of Health, 2011), which are aimed for the long-term alcohol abuse patients and patients requiring a prolonged treatment such as long-term rehabilitation and hospital care due to extensive physical or mental damage resulting from a prolonged abuse of alcohol_ the consultancy program is also aimed as a preventative measure apart from its curative approach, in that the troubled young adults can approach this service either directly or through family and friends, and take advantage of the counseling and consultancy programs; peer support programs (Department of Health, 2011) aimed especially at the young adults who feel oppressed by peer pressure, or those who are suffering from alcohol abuse problems and can benefit from help by their peers_ this program aiming at both educating and creating awareness among the youth of the area; youth outreach programs (Department of Health, 2011), again aimed directly at the young adult demographic sector of the area as this is most effected of the population (Rood, 2009); a specialist methadone service (Department of Health, 2011), which is a highly specialized and targeted service for alcohol abuse patients; and the cooperation of the Koori network, in the form of the Koori community alcohol and drug workers (Department of Health, 2011), and the Koori community alcohol and drug resource services (Department of Health, 2011). Conclusion: The most urgent issue with regard to the preventative and curative efforts by the government and the private organizations is the lack of adequate number of skilled workers who can impart those services widely among the public (Biondo, 2010). This shortage of technically trained work force means that many of the patients and drug abusers are left unattended (Biondo, 2010), who then develop serious problems related to their drug abuse. This has resulted in the increased number of hospital visits and ambulatory calls in the area (Biondo, 2010), as discussed previously. The alcohol abuse combat plans in Victoria are quite comprehensive and targeted (Biondo, 2010), and there is quite a range of options available to the public if they so desire to seek help (Biondo, 2010); however, some of those programs and services have waiting lists (Biondo, 2010) that keep the public from gaining access to them when they are most needed (Biondo, 2010). This hinders the effectiveness of these programs, resulting in a greater prevalence of alcohol abuse related violence (Biondo, 2010) and problems on the streets and in homes. It is recommended that the government should focus more on midstream interventional techniques by recruiting more trained personnel to meet the increased demands of the society, to increase the effectiveness of the alcohol abuse combat plans (Biondo, 2010). Furthermore, these measures should include redesigning the structure of these programs and organizations so that a more direct route is available to the abuse victims, and the intervening red tapes and middle level organizational tiers are removed, for speedy action and quicker results. References (2011). NCETA. Retrieved from http://nceta.flinders.edu.au/. Accessed 23 August 2011. Alcohol and drug information service. (2009). Alcohol-related statistics. Retrieved from http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=88. Accessed 23 August 2011. Biondo, S. (2010). 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