Community Exam 4, POP Ch. 37
A community assessment reveals a high incidence of alcohol-related chronic
liver disease and cirrhosis in the local community. A primary prevention harm-
reduction program would focus on:
a. detoxification, addiction treatment, and codependency.
b. drug education, drug treatment, and recovery.
c. polysubstance abuse, assessment of recreational drug use, and drug
testing.
d. promotion of a healthy lifestyle and resilience factors, and drug education. -
correct answer ✔ANS: D
The harm reduction approach to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD)
problems focuses on health promotion and disease prevention. Primary
prevention for ATOD problems includes the promotion of healthy lifestyles and
resiliency factors, and education about drugs and guidelines for their use.
Nurses are ideally prepared to use health promotion strategies such as
encouraging healthy alternatives to indiscriminate, careless, and often
dangerous drug use practices and providing education about drugs to
decrease harm from irresponsible or unsafe drug use.
Primary prevention programs for adolescents at risk for ATOD problems
should focus on:
a. encouraging competitiveness and success in aggressive sports.
b. encouraging focus on short-term solutions rather than long-term planning.
c. screening and treating psychiatric disorders and influencing social norms.
d. teaching adolescents to "just say no." - correct answer ✔ANS: C
,Family-related factors such as genetics, family stress, parenting styles, and
child victimization appear to be the variables with the greatest influence on
substance abuse among adolescents. The presence of a psychiatric disorder
(especially a mood disorder) and behavioral problems is also associated with
substance abuse among adolescents; peer pressure is a less influential
factor. Effective social influence-based prevention programs should focus on
effective screening and treatment of psychiatric disorders and modification of
social norms to reduce adolescents' social motivation to begin using ATOD.
A client acknowledges that his cocaine use is damaging his career and
marriage, but the client has not investigated local treatment options. The
nurse encourages the client to weigh the pros and cons of the drug problem
and think about the solution to the problem, because the nurse recognizes
that the client is in the change stage of:
a. action.
b. contemplation.
c. precontemplation.
d. preparation. - correct answer ✔ANS: B
The role of the nurse in assessing individuals is to determine their readiness
for change in acknowledging a problem and seeking treatment and recovery.
The stages of change are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation,
action, and maintenance. The strategies used by the nurse depend on the
specific stage of change the client is in. At the contemplation stage of change,
the individual is aware that a problem exists and is seriously thinking of
overcoming it, but has not yet made a commitment to take action. The nurse
can encourage the individual to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of
the problem and consider the solution to the problem.
A truck driver says, "At first I was just using 'meth' at parties, but now I think
about it all the time and how am I going to get some." The term that best
describes this individual's use behavior is:
a. drug addiction.
, b. drug dependence.
c. recreational drug use.
d. substance abuse. - correct answer ✔ANS: A
Drug addiction is a pattern of abuse characterized by an overwhelming
preoccupation with using a drug (compulsive use) and securing its supply, and
a strong tendency to relapse if the drug is removed. Frequently addicts are
physically dependent on the drug, but there appears to be an added
psychological component that is responsible for the intense cravings and
subsequent relapse.
A very toxic psychoactive drug that is a stimulant, causes tolerance to develop
within hours, and has dangerous health impacts for those in the vicinity during
use is:
a. alcohol.
b. crack cocaine.
c. nicotine.
d. volatile solvents. - correct answer ✔ANS: C
Nicotine is a stimulant to which the body quickly develops a tolerance. For
regular smokers, tolerance develops within hours, compared with days for
heroin or months for alcohol. Smoke is damaging when inhaled directly.
Sidestream smoke, also called secondhand smoke, contains greater
concentrations of toxic and carcinogenic compounds than mainstream or
firsthand smoke.
Some health care organizations, like the American Nurses' Association,
American Public Health Association (APHA), and several state nurses'
associations, passed formal resolutions to support the use of medicinal
marijuana based on its low level of toxicity, dependence, or addiction, and
therapeutic safety and benefits especially in the control of pain. These
resolutions have impacted changes in state legislation but to date, despite
