Have you got an attitude problem? Caring for illicit drug-using patients
Rosemary Norman
Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of Canberra, ACT
PP: 083 - 091
Abstract
The use of illicit drugs in an environment of prohibition results in major health risks to the drug-using population. Substantial morbidity and mortality in this group is identified as a priority area for public health action.
Undergraduate nursing programs prepare students to manage clinical emergencies resulting from drug use, to undertake health promotion activities in a harm minimisation policy environment, and to provide appropriate community referral. It is a cause for concern, therefore, that a group of senior undergraduate nursing students express negative perceptions of a drug-using individual's personality and behaviour.
It is imperative that undergraduate nurse educators find ways to challenge student attitudes from the first semester of their program. Nurses in the clinical setting must display professional values that emphasise the dignity and worth of all individuals. They have an opportunity to make a difference to the health outcomes of this marginalised group of health consumers.
Keywords
illicit drugs; attitudes; nurses; prohibition; harm minimisation
References
ACT Government (1999) From Harm to Hope: ACT Drug Strategy 1999.AGPS, Canberra.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2001) The quantification of drug caused mortality and morbidity. Media release available online www.aihw.gov.au/media/2001/nr010223b.html
ANCARD (Australian National Council on AIDS and Related Diseases) (1998) Protecting Our Investment 1997. Report to the Minister for Health and Family Services, ANCARD, AGPS, Canberra.
Bammer G & Sengoz A (1994) Non-fatal heroin overdose. Medical Journal of Australia 161: 572-573.
Carney T, Drew L, Mathews J, Mugford S & Wodak A (1991) An Unwinnable War Against Drugs: The Politics of Decriminalisation. Southwood Press, New South Wales.
Contoreggi C, Rexroad VE & Lange WR (1998) Current management of infectious complications in the injecting drug user. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 15(2): 95-106.
Crofts N, Louie R, Rosenthal D & Jolley D (1996) The first hit: circumstances surrounding initiation into injecting. Addiction 91(8): 1187-1196.
Darke S, Ross J & Hall W (1996) Overdose among heroin users in Sydney, Australia: 1. Prevalence and correlates of non-fatal overdose. Addiction 91(3): 405-411.
Darke S & Ross J (1999) Heroin related deaths in South West Sydney, Australia, 1992-96. Drug and Alcohol Review 18: 39-45.
Darke S & Zador D (1996) Fatal heroin overdose: A review. Addiction 91(12): 1765-1772.
de Crespigny C (1996) Alcohol and other drug problems in Australia: The urgent need for nurse education. Collegian (Journal of the Royal College of Nursing, Australia) 3(3): 23-29.
Dietze PM, Cvetkovski S, Rumbold G & Millar P (2000) Ambulance attendance at heroin overdose in Melbourne: The establishment of a database of ambulance service records. Drug and Alcohol Review 19: 26-33.
Donoghoe MC & Wodak A (1998) Health and social consequences of injecting drug use. In Stimson G, Des Jarlais DC & Ball A (eds) Drug Injecting and HIV Infection, Ch. 3, pp. 42-57. WHO Publication, UCL Press, London.
Dwyer R & Rumbold G (2000) Victorian Drug Trends 1999: Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IRDS).Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre Inc., Melbourne.
Feigenbaum JC (1995) Changes of senior baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of individuals who are substance abusers. Addictions Nursing 7(3): 90-95.
Fitzgerald JL, Broad S & Dare A (1999) Regulating the Street Heroin Market in Fitzroy/Collingwood. Melbourne Department of Criminology and the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Gredler M (1992) Designing and Evaluating Games and Simulations: A Process Approach. Kogan Page Ltd, London.
Hall WD, Degenhardt LJ & Lynskey MT (1999) Opioid overdose mortality in Australia, 1964-1997: Birth cohort trends. Medical Journal of Australia 171: 34-37.
Hill S & Szoke H (1988) Medicare update. Health Issues (16): December.
Mabbutt J & Baker H (1995) The meaning to nurses in acute care settings of the use of alcohol and other drugs by their clients. Proceedings: Drug and Alcohol Nursing in Australia, Keeping Ahead. Ninth Annual Conference of the Drug and alcohol Nurses Conference, Sydney.
Maher L, Dixon D, Lynskey M & Hall W (1998) Running the Risks: Heroin, Health and Harm in South West Sydney. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, NDARC monograph no. 38. University of NSW, Sydney.
Makkai T & McAllister I (1998) Public Opinion Towards Drug Policies in Australia 1985-1995. Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, AGPS.
Marsh CJ (1979) Simulation Games in Action. Ashton Scholastic, Gosford, NSW.
McKetin R, Darke S & Kaye S (2000) NSW Drug Trends 1999: Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IRDS). National Drug and Alcohol Centre, University of NSW, Sydney.
Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (1993) National Drug Strategic Plan, 1993-1997. AGPS, Canberra.
Mundy J (1996) Treating adolescents: What works. Journal of Drug and Alcohol Issues 16(1): Feb/Mar.
Parse R (1987) Nursing Science: Major Paradigms, Theories and Critiques. WB Saunders, Philadelphia.
Piaget J (1972) The Principles of Generic Epistemology. Basic Books, New York.
Premier's Drug Advisory Council (1996) Drugs and Our Community. Victorian Government Printing Service, Melbourne.
Redfern Legal Centre (1996) Beyond Prohibition: Redfern Legal Centre Drug Law Reform Project. Redfern Legal Centre, Sydney.
Ridolfo B & Stevenson C (2001) The Quantification of Drug-caused Mortality and Morbidity in Australia, 1998.AIHW, Canberra.
Sullivan E (1995) Nursing Care of Clients with Substance Abuse. CV Mosby, St Louis.
Wodak A & Owens R (1996) Drug Prohibition: A Call For Change. University of New South Wales Press, Sydney.
Wodak A (1997) Hepatitis C: Waiting for the Grim Reaper. Medical Journal of Australia 166: 284-5.
eContent Home
