Prevention of Alcohol Use Among Women within 25-40

1 Prevention of Alcohol use among Women within 25-40 in England Binge drinking is a huge but preventable health challenge in the U.K and other regions worldwide. This behavior refers to the pattern of alcohol consumption that increases the blood alcohol concentration to 0.08%. For adult males, this pattern corresponds to consuming about five or more drinks, whereas for adult females, it corresponds to taking four or more drinks within two hours (NHS, 2022). Binge drinking generates worse health effects than consuming a serving of alcohol daily since it exposes the body to a higher level of toxicity. The body cannot metabolize large quantities of alcohol at one time.

Binge drinking is attributable to social, psychological, environmental, and genetic factors.

For instance, individuals who start consuming alcohol during the early stages of life find it hard to quit in later stages. Crook and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (2020) noted that other significant contributors to alcohol use are sociocultural factors, anxiety, and depression.

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2 Women, for instance, consume alcohol to overcome the overwhelming emotions associated with traumatic experiences such as a family breakup, domestic violence, and the death of a spouse (Roerecke et al., 2018). The probability of using alcohol is also higher among those with alcohol-using partners and friends. The media portrays alcohol consumption as glamorous, attracting many women to this harmful behavior.

This paper explores the principles of health promotion that could be applied to prevent binge drinking among women in the U.K. The paper will discuss nurses’ roles in promoting health and preventing illness. The health promotion strategy and the significance of preventing binge drinking in the target group will be highlighted. The paper will briefly describe the health promotion approach and the campaign resources.

Purpose This assignment highlights the strategies to effectively promote health and prevent ill health among women between 25 and 44 years. Rosenberg et al. (2018) argued that poor public awareness concerning the health risks of binge drinking might be the main contributory factor to this behavior.

Background Binge drinking among women is a significant contributor to poor health outcomes. It increases the risk of diseases and may lead to the death of a person. This behavior also places a heavy burden on the National Health Service besides being a significant risk for cancer.

Sudhinaraset et al. (20106) clarified that the devastating effects of alcohol misuse range from individual health risks to family and community socioeconomic and health consequences.

Alcohol-attributable diseases and injuries place many users at an increased risk of death and mortality.

3 The 2016 alcohol guidelines pointed out that women should not exceed three alcohol units per day and 14 units per week (Gov.UK, 2021). These guidelines also clarified that women should allow a 48-hour alcohol-free period following excessive alcohol consumption to allow tissue recovery. However, women do not adhere to these guidelines. The prevalence of binge drinking has risen significantly among women aged between 18 and 24 years. Over 18% of women above 18 years consume alcohol regularly, making this habit a significant public health problem. Younger women, including high school and college students, have embraced this behavior (NHS, 2022). Even pregnant women consume alcohol, disregarding the health risks it poses to the unborn child. A recent study revealed that 10% of the respondents’ consumed alcohol during pregnancy. This behavior disregards all advisories to participate in activities that promote health, also described as the state of physical, psychological, and social well-being.

Well-being entails the presence of positive emotions such as satisfaction and happiness and the absence of negative emotions like sadness and anxiety.

Strategies employed at various levels to prevent people from consuming excessive alcohol have not achieved the intended consequences. For instance, the 2016 Alcohol Guidelines, as pointed out by Rosenberg et al. (2018), were implemented following the rising evidence of poor health outcomes associated with alcohol. These guidelines serve as a blueprint for alcohol misuse prevention across the continuum. They also provide accurate information regarding low-risk drinking in line with health and wellbeing. However, they have not deterred people from misusing alcohol.

Discussion Health promotion and illness prevention are interventions aimed at sustaining people's health. Health promotion entails developing behaviors that enhance bodily functioning and

4 improve a person’s ability to adjust and cope with a changing environment. Disease prevention entails implementing activities that lower the risk of contracting diseases. These interventions empower individuals, families, and communities to embrace behaviors that promote healthy living and lower the risk of developing chronic conditions and other morbidities (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2019). At the population level, these interventions eradicate health disparities and improve the quality of life. They also improve the accessibility to health services, thus enhancing care outcomes.

Nurses play a critical part in health promotion and disease prevention. These professionals understand that preventive efforts could lead to efficient utilization of resources and improvement in health status. Nurses must, however, acknowledge the opportunities to promote health and prevent diseases. This acknowledgment helps them identify the best interventions to address specific health issues in a population. They also develop programs that are tailored to individual and population needs. Nurses also encourage individuals to embrace behaviors that lower their risk of injury, diseases, and death (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2019). They help individuals make informed choices regarding their health. By endorsing health promotion interventions and disease prevention activities, nurses could assist individuals and populations attain optimal health.

Section 1 Outlining the principles of health promotion There are several principles of health promotion that nurses could integrate into practice.

These principles comprise equity in health, participation, and involvement, a comprehensive and positive health concept, empowerment, a settings perspective, and action competence. Haugan and Eriksson (2021) argued that human beings' existence is influenced by social, economic, and

5 cultural factors. This implies that health problems are deeply entrenched in societal and cultural structures. Therefore, nurses must direct health promotion interventions toward lifestyle and living conditions since these factors cannot be treated autonomously. Nurses must involve the people in health promotion activities and ensure resources are distributed equally across populations (Iriarte‐Roteta et al., 2020). This approach helps empower target groups and achieve fairness of outcomes besides creating working relationships with the community. Health promotion must be sustainable implying that the outcomes should be long-term. Nurses also must identify and implement the interventions that comprehensively tackle population health issues such as binge drinking among women.

The rationale for preventing binge drinking Although the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed by men are higher than in women, the health impacts are far more remarkable in women because biological differences in chemistry and body structure cause women to absorb more alcohol. Rosenberg et al. (2018) noted that after taking the same quantity of alcohol, the blood alcohol level is more significant in women than men. The time it takes to metabolize alcohol is also higher in women than men.

These variations increase women's susceptibility to the prolonged adverse health outcomes of alcohol than men.

Heavy episodic drinking and clustering of other risky behaviors such as excess weight, poor diet, and smoking contribute to the high mortality rates. Alcohol is also a significant contributor to sexual violence and domestic. Rosenberg et al. (2018) noted that over 40% of women exposed to violence either use alcohol or are in a relationship with an alcoholic.

Rosenberg et al. (2018) noted that alcohol use increases a person’s risk for over a hundred health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and liver disorders. Rosenberg et al.

6 (2018) also revealed that alcohol contributes to the hospitalization of over 300,000 people yearly.

These statistics suggest the need to prevent binge drinking and promote the physical well-being of women.

Appropriate intervention to promote physical and mental health wellbeing Social support is a reliable approach to preventing alcohol use among women. This approach has numerous therapeutic benefits, including reduced post-treatment relapse, treatment retention, and withdrawal management among people with alcohol use disorder (Moon et al., 2019). Participating in social activities improves a person's emotional and psychological wellbeing and strengthens the sense of belonging and security.

Creating physical exercise programs could help lower alcohol consumption among women. Leasure et al. (2015) noted that physical exercise protects against physical and psychological health disorders. Individuals who exercise regularly also embrace healthier behaviors such as proper nutrition and positive sleep patterns. These people also associate with members of groups that embrace similar principles. Since alcohol use is not a health-promoting behavior, people who exercise regularly shun alcoholism. Therefore, women should be encouraged to exercise regularly to boost their health.

The planning model The planning model is an organizing framework for health promotion efforts to reduce the impact of a specific health problem. This model provides a platform to implement interventions and meet key health promotion goals. Identifying problems and opportunities is the first step of this model. Health professionals identify threats, problems, and shared concerns at this point (Corcoran, 2011). The second step is developing objectives that align with the stakeholders’ needs, values, and preferences. The third step involves collecting appropriate

7 resources, including financial resources and social information, to define the identified problem and potential solutions further. Resource data analysis is the fourth step of the process model. It involves studying resource data and defining existing conditions for available resources (Corcoran, 2011). Formulating alternatives is the fifth step. It involves identifying potential solutions to identified health issues. These alternatives are evaluated in the sixth step of the process model. The evaluation aims to ascertain the effectiveness of available alternatives (Corcoran, 2011). The seventh step is decision making, whereby the health profession selects the intervention that best suits the identified problem. The eighth and ninth steps are plan implementation and evaluation respectively.

Health promotion strategy The health promotion strategy incorporates the critical aspects of health promotion, including policy development, creating a supportive environment, strengthening community action, reorienting health services, and developing personal skills. Health-promoting strategies range from an individually focused intervention to nationally health-promoting interventions (Naidoo & Wills, 2016). Individual interventions include lifestyle and behavior change whereas nationally focused interventions include policy development and health promotion campaigns.

Individually focused approaches are the best interventions for preventing binge drinking.

Stakeholders Various stakeholders could collaborate with individuals, families, and communities to promote health and avert the binge drinking menace. For instance, Make Every Contact Count (MECC) is an evidence-based intervention that enables health care workers to engage in constructive conversations about alcohol, physical activity, and mental health with their clients.

MECC uses social care and health approaches that align with behavior change. Professionals

8 utilize daily interactions with people to encourage behavior change besides supporting the wellbeing of individuals, populations, and communities. MECC is a suitable alcohol prevention approach for women since it provides these people with resources to manage and improve their psychological health and well-being (NICE, 2022). The MECC website includes information developed with multiagency input at various levels to support the target group overcome the urge to drink alcohol. It also avails appropriate behavioral interventions for persons struggling with alcohol use disorder. MECC uses brief interventions involving conversations, negotiations, and engagement to avert antisocial behaviors such as excessive alcohol intake among clients. MECC encourages a person to think about change besides offering other forms of help, including referrals for other interventions (NICE, 2022).

Health promotion approach Health professionals can apply behaviour change theories and effective communication mechanisms to eradicate the binge drinking problem in the community. The health brief model, for instance, guides health promotion programs by explaining and predicting potential changes in individual behaviors. This model helps professionals understand health behaviors and educate individuals on healthy living. This strategy provides a platform for motivating individuals to replace risky behaviours with healthy behaviors. The reasoned action theory suggests that the intention to perform a behavior is the key factor determining individual behaviour. This intention depends on the subjective norms and an individual’s attitude towards that behaviour. Social and environmental surroundings, for instance, influence the intention to drink alcohol. Individuals who engage in binge drinking lack positive attitudes and subjective norms, which are associated with greater control of intentions. The theory of behavioral change can be used in health

9 education and anti-alcohol campaigns to identify alcohol users and promote behavioral control among these people.

Poster evaluation The binge drinking intervention poster is properly formatted. The text style and the colour in the poster improve its visibility from a distance. The graphics used in the poster align with the intended message. For instance, the stop sign helps pass the message to stop alcohol consumption. The poster is written in the English language since the targeted audience is English language speakers. The poster does not have complex terms but comprises simple, understandable phrases. The use of warm colors makes the poster attractive. This poster can be erected in places frequented by young people who binge drink. For instance, it could be placed in entertainment joints, social halls, bars, and health institutions.

Section II An extensive campaign against binge drinking involving posters is an effective intervention that helps reduce binge drinking among women. This approach helps spread a simple message concerning the health impact of binge drinking to the target audience. Millions of people misuse alcohol since they are unaware of the health risks of this behavior. Therefore, the campaign ensures that people at risk of binge drinking are provided with information that helps them make informed choices. Posters are reliable since they reach a wider audience in a short period. Nurses develop the ability to manage educational interventions and health campaigns through various strategies, including critical thinking, consultation with specialists, proper allocation and utilization of resources, and technology integration into the process. These strategies align with the Corcoran model for organizing nursing informatics. This model clarifies

10 that the core of informatics science focuses on processes, including information, data, and knowledge, and not the computer.

Similarly, in health campaigns, nurses use knowledge and information to make decisions and implement interventions to achieve the projected results. Nurses also implement effective communication mechanisms to share information with stakeholders and the target population.

Effective communication allows nurses to gather actionable feedback.

Conclusion Binge drinking among women aged 25-44 is a high health issue in the U.K. Alcohol increases a person's risk of diseases, including heart disease, cancer, depression, and liver cirrhosis. Pregnant women who engage in binge drinking expose their unborn children to the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome and other chronic health complications. The National Health Services has prioritized preventing alcohol use among women between 25 and 44. Health professionals could apply strategies to achieve this objective, including extensive campaigns to sensitize the target population to the health impact of binge drinking. Making every contact count is also a practical intervention for alcohol use in the target group. Social support eradicates emotional turmoil attributable to stressful events. It also creates a platform for individuals to share their experiences and participate in supportive activities such as physical exercise.

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