Poster Presentation
Friday, July 13, 2007
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Friday, July 13, 2007
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
Processes of Stage of Change among Alcohol Dependent Inpatients: Using Trans-theoretical Model
Shu-Mei Wu, MSN, RN1, Mei-Yu Yeh, RN, PhD2, and Hui-Lian Che, MSN, RN1. (1) Department of Nursing, Chung Gung Institute of Technology, Kwei-Shan Hsiang, Taiwan, (2) Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Institute of Technology, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
| Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to understand behaviors of alcohol dependent patients. |
| Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to understand behaviors of alcohol dependent patients during stage of change under a framework of the trans-theoretical. |
The purpose of this research is to study the behaviors of alcohol dependent patients during stage of change under a framework of the trans-theoretical model. We studied 20 patients in total by in-depth interview and content analysis. The result show that the alcohol dependent patients would experience five stages, namely pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance, in the processes of stage of change and each stage was marked by specific nature. In the pre-contemplation stage, the alcohol dependent patients were short of motive for change. The visited patients had positive expectancy for drinking alcohol and did not consider their drinking problems seriously. The patients rationalized their behaviors of problem drinking and believed they were able to take full control of their drinking behaviors. In the contemplation stage, the patients realized their problems in drinking behavior and were willing to listen to their own inner voice at heart and also admit their failure in health and social function due to drinking. They figured out that they had lost control in drinking behavior and felt hopeless and painful, and thought about to retrieve their failed health and social function. In the preparation stage, the patients admit the difficulty in quitting drinking and show strong desire for abstinence. However, they hesitated to take action and showed the intention of withdraw. The patients begin to try various ways to quit drinking during the action stage, and recover from alcohol dependence and demonstrate positive characteristics towards to normal daily life function during the stage of maintenance. We hope that the result will serve as criteria for evaluating alcohol dependent patients in stages of change and adjusting treatment strategies, which will benefit the efficiency of clinical treatment.