Application of early detection and brief intervention tools by nurses among patients with suspected alcohol or tobacco harmful use or dependence syndrome

Given the high prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use among minors and adult population in the Czech Republic a high incidence of diseases related to excessive use of these substances can be observed as well. Health care professionals, especially nurses, are in a unique position for implementation of screening and brief intervention in order to reduce risk and harmful substance abuse. Legislation of the Czech Republic regarding harmful consequences of risk alcohol and tobacco use obliges them to conduct brief intervention in suspected cases. The theoretical part of this thesis summarizes the current situation regarding prevalence and incidence of alcohol and tobacco use in the Czech Republic, describes diseases resulting from excessive alcohol and tobacco use, defines methods for early detection and brief intervention and finally characterizes the role of nurses in providing brief interventions. Research conducted as part of this work was carried out on internal departments of health institutions with accreditation in Prague in the form of a quantitative survey. The research group consisted of 72 respondents from inpatient wards. The main objective of this work is to find out and describe real knowledge and application of screening methods, diagnostic tools and brief intervention techniques for..