Screening of Substance Abuse Among Women in Perinatal Care
Tazanu Fossung, Joakem; Cudjoe, Kwame (2013)
Tazanu Fossung, Joakem
Cudjoe, Kwame
Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu
2013
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2013060513041
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2013060513041
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this review was to describe contemporary screening methodologies and processes for determining the substance abuse status of perinatal women using recent literary works. It also outlines potential innovations to improve the screening process and subsequent treatment of the aforementioned. The study was undertaken as part of the Kuitinmäki project in Laurea University of Applied Sciences. This study sought to answer the research question; What is entailed in the screening of substance abuse among perinatal women by nurses?
A literature review was the research methodology used for this study and the literature search was mainly sourced from articles, journals, books and reports retrieved with the aid of electronic databases such as EBSCO (CINAHL), EBSCO (Academic Search Elite) and Pubmed. The literature search was facilitated through the use of specified keywords as guiding parameters. Data selection from the literature search was based on significance to the research task and thereafter, selected data (literary sources) was analysed using an inductive content analysis ap-proach to further streamline and perfect the findings.
The findings suggest that a comprehensive assessment is the acceptable way for nurses to detect and draw up a comprehensive care plan for substance abusing perinatal women. The screening process can be further improved by incorporating a dual pronged approach to screening perinatal women for substance abuse. This should include the conventional screening techniques (e.g. questionnaires) and clinical testing methods such as the use of biomarkers.
Nurses and other health care practitioners are also expected to familiarize themselves with the appropriate screening methods and tools, by keeping in mind the limitations or innacuracies of the different screening tools.
Certain recommendations for health interventions such as for the nurses to create a conduisive environment for the screening process and by applying the philosophy of harm reduction which supports and encourages even the smallest improvements,could significantly improve the screening process and the results.The findings of this study also denote a paucity of literature works and research done to fully assess the situation concerning the screening of substance abuse among perinatal women and suggests that more research should be carried out in this particular field, to incorporate new solutions so as to enhance the operations of nurses and other health care practitioners to enable them provide quality holistic care topeinatal women and their families.
Keywords: Substance abuse, Perinatal care, pregnant women, screening
A literature review was the research methodology used for this study and the literature search was mainly sourced from articles, journals, books and reports retrieved with the aid of electronic databases such as EBSCO (CINAHL), EBSCO (Academic Search Elite) and Pubmed. The literature search was facilitated through the use of specified keywords as guiding parameters. Data selection from the literature search was based on significance to the research task and thereafter, selected data (literary sources) was analysed using an inductive content analysis ap-proach to further streamline and perfect the findings.
The findings suggest that a comprehensive assessment is the acceptable way for nurses to detect and draw up a comprehensive care plan for substance abusing perinatal women. The screening process can be further improved by incorporating a dual pronged approach to screening perinatal women for substance abuse. This should include the conventional screening techniques (e.g. questionnaires) and clinical testing methods such as the use of biomarkers.
Nurses and other health care practitioners are also expected to familiarize themselves with the appropriate screening methods and tools, by keeping in mind the limitations or innacuracies of the different screening tools.
Certain recommendations for health interventions such as for the nurses to create a conduisive environment for the screening process and by applying the philosophy of harm reduction which supports and encourages even the smallest improvements,could significantly improve the screening process and the results.The findings of this study also denote a paucity of literature works and research done to fully assess the situation concerning the screening of substance abuse among perinatal women and suggests that more research should be carried out in this particular field, to incorporate new solutions so as to enhance the operations of nurses and other health care practitioners to enable them provide quality holistic care topeinatal women and their families.
Keywords: Substance abuse, Perinatal care, pregnant women, screening