Nurses' attitudes, beliefs and confidence levels regarding care for those who abuse alcohol: impact of educational intervention.

Alcohol abuse is a worldwide public health concern. Nurses, representing the largest body of health care providers, are a potential resource to provide screening and brief intervention for patients with alcohol problems. This study evaluates the effect of an educational intervention on the attitudes, beliefs, and confidence levels of nurses regarding screening and brief intervention for alcohol problems. One hundred eighty-one students at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing participated in a four-hour educational intervention to train providers in brief negotiated intervention (BNI) for screening, early detection and brief treatment of alcohol problems. Participants completed questionnaires before and after this training. Analysis of the data using paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance showed statistically significant positive change in the nurses' attitudes, beliefs, and confidence levels regarding alcohol abuse and its treatment after the educational intervention. For example, the percentage of nurses who reported always having confidence in assessing patients' readiness to change their behavior increased from 8.3% to 23.5% after training. In conclusion, the BNI educational intervention can be effective in promoting positive changes among nurses in attitudes, beliefs, and confidence levels regarding alcohol abuse and its treatment.