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| author | Lise Anne Cooper |
| title | Bedside Counseling for Medical Inpatients Who Misuse Alcohol |
| abstract |
This dissertation addresses the process and results of a program implemented to motivate patients that are admitted to a medical center with diagnoses of alcohol
misuse to seek addiction recovery. The primary research question is: How does bedside addiction counseling reduce the patient's number of readmissions and length
of stay? This is a comparative, interventional mixed methods study. This study also examines the methods used to identify the inpatients at the medical center
that are admitted with alcohol misuse, and how that identification process initiates treatment. The analysis of informants stating they will seek recovery after
discharge from the medical center was used as a proxy, or predictor. As the predictor, the statistically significant finding of counseled informants stating they
will seek recovery after discharge (p ≤ 0.001) coupled with the statistical significance of the reduction in informant readmissions (p ≤ 0.001)
during the one year-post period suggests that bedside addiction counseling reduced readmissions. The total length of inpatient hospital days for the counseled
informant group also decreased dramatically from the study period to the one year-post period. This research suggests that bedside addiction counseling may be
associated with contributing to an environment in which the patient informant feels comfortable enough to discuss issues contributing to their alcohol misuse.
I found that the use of proper screening tools that provide adequate time to engage in therapeutic narrative supports a better understanding of the patient with
alcohol misuse. Currently, narrative is not part of the identification process for alcohol misuse in patients. Narrative can support a greater understanding of
alcohol misuse for both the patient and the healthcare team. I identified opportunities for improvement in the medical center's identification process of patients
with alcohol misuse. I have recommended a national public education and awareness campaign modeled after the 2012 anti–smoking campaign conducted by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. I believe this type of national campaign can reduce stigma towards the individuals with alcohol misuse while, at the same
time, increasing the antipathy towards the products that cause this particular addiction.
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| school | The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, Drew University |
| degree | D.M.H. (2019) |
| advisor | Paul I Kadetz |
| committee | Mildred O Kowalski |
| full text | LACooper.pdf |
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