Substance abuse is a very concerning area in the United States. Society does not understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Our group decided to do our project on substance abuse because drug use is on the rise in this country. There is approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 that are addicted to alcohol and drugs; almost equal the entire population of Texas (“Results from the,” 2014). Our group will be addressing specific health assessment needs, patient/family teachings, and tell you about our time spent with the population.
There are many health concerns in regards to the substance abuse population. Health care providers use different screening tools in order to diagnosis different substance abuse problems. Alcohol dependence is a chronic, progressive disease with no known cure, but there are many different treatments available. A popular screening tool used in healthcare settings is the AUDIT Questionnaire, which gives the patient a series of questions and rates their responses on a number system so that the patient does not adjust their answers. The patients answers are added up and the final number will determine if they have a less severe …show more content…
The DAST-10 uses ten questions with yes or no answers to assess for drug use, not including alcohol or tobacco, within the last year. Like the AUDIT questionnaire, the DAST-10 calculates the patient’s risk for drug abuse by adding up their score from the ten questions. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015). The AUDIT and DAST-10 are only two out of many types of screening tools used for substance abuse. As student nurses, assessment is a very crucial area that needs to be done very thorough in order to give an accurate nursing diagnosis and using these screening tools can help nurses be more
There are many health concerns in regards to the substance abuse population. Health care providers use different screening tools in order to diagnosis different substance abuse problems. Alcohol dependence is a chronic, progressive disease with no known cure, but there are many different treatments available. A popular screening tool used in healthcare settings is the AUDIT Questionnaire, which gives the patient a series of questions and rates their responses on a number system so that the patient does not adjust their answers. The patients answers are added up and the final number will determine if they have a less severe …show more content…
The DAST-10 uses ten questions with yes or no answers to assess for drug use, not including alcohol or tobacco, within the last year. Like the AUDIT questionnaire, the DAST-10 calculates the patient’s risk for drug abuse by adding up their score from the ten questions. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015). The AUDIT and DAST-10 are only two out of many types of screening tools used for substance abuse. As student nurses, assessment is a very crucial area that needs to be done very thorough in order to give an accurate nursing diagnosis and using these screening tools can help nurses be more