Harmful Use of Alcohol - Project Assessment

Assignment Task:

Alcohol plays a significant role in the life of the people, which not only affects the individual but the whole community, locally and globally. The consumption of alcohol is widespread in Australia which accounts for 5.1% of the total disease in 2011. It is also responsible for 28% of the burden caused by traffic injuries, 24% of health burden due to chronic liver disease, 23% due to suicide and 19% as a result of stroke (AIHW, 2016). While the problem has been escalating day by day, different interventions and preventive measure can play a vital role in reducing the harmful use of alcohol and its effect.

To begin with, consumption of alcohol can be perceived as a positive factor in social lives of some people, but in most cases, it has resulted in a negative impact in one’s social, physical, psychological and mental health. The harmful use of alcohol attributes to nearly 200 disease and abnormal health conditions, which includes liver damage, cardiovascular-related problems and mental illness (Hill, Clarke, Casswell, & World Health Organisation, 2011). Moreover, the harm of alcohol leads to the damaging of almost all the organs in the body. Likewise, the consumption of alcohol in society can have both positive and negative impact ranging from stress relief, better mood to increase in violence (Lee, Maggs, Neighbors, & Patrick, 2011). Not only the life of alcohol consumption is affected, but also friends and family members are harmed. Apart from family members, relationship with the colleagues and friends in the workplace can worsen along with the poor performance in work. In addition, Wetherill and Fromme (2016) showed that although heavy drinking might lead to blackout characterised by memory loss or amnesia which is temporary, persistent dependency on alcohol can cause permanent damage to the brain. Also, alcohol and depression are synergistic but alcohol has posed to be a greater cause for depression. For instance, people in depression and stress depend on alcohol for relief. Though it might provide relief for certain duration of time, it will worsen the condition.

Along with these, the heavy consumption of alcohol can be serious, especially when the poor are concerned (Shield, Parry, & Rehm, 2013). While there is heavy expenditure on alcohol, such people also face the problem of lower wages, high medical expenses due to more health issues thus exceeding the amount of their salary. 
In 2014-15, 115,000 patients received treatment from public funds and agencies in Australia. Also, there were 70,000 clients for the presentation of alcohol in emergency departments (AIHW, 2016). However, Nova, Baccan, Veses, Zapatera, and Marcos (2012) reported that the consumption of alcohol in a moderate amount could have some health benefits. Health benefits range from relieving the risk of heart-related diseases, aiding in the lowering of risk of having diabetes and reducing the risk of ischemic stroke (French & Zavala, 2007).  Even though alcohol consumption can have some positive impact on health, it is unlikely that it cannot lead to a habit (Mostofsky, Mukamal, Giovannucci, Stampfer, & Rimm, 2016). So different interventions and preventive measures are essential to reduce the harmful effect of alcohol.
Different organisations at national and international levels are working to bring about the improvement of the case (Poznyak et al., 2013). Also, the government of many countries are liable to protect its citizen from the adverse effect on health. To address the issues, the Australian government has been active in breaking the negative impact posed by the massive alcohol consumption (Wolfaardt, Brownbill, Mahmood, & Bowden, 2018; Doran, Hall, Shakeshaft, Vos, & Cobiac, 2010). Some of the instances are high tax set for alcohol products, and there is a ban in advertising of alcohol products, guidelines and policies have been set of low-risk drinking (WHO, 2019).

As a nurse, there is a certain role that I can play in providing awareness to the people and also provide some alcohol interventions. Prior to the implementation of the strategy, it is essential to have knowledge of the adverse effect accounted by the consumption of alcohol (Mostofsky et al., 2016). Such an approach ensures the availability of accurate and genuine information to encourage patients and general people for maintaining a safe level for alcohol consumption. In case of individuals identified as harmfully drinking, there can be an option for change in behaviour which might consist of reducing the consumption of alcohol or getting admitted in therapy for reduction in dependency of alcohol consumption (Howard, Gordon, & Jones, 2014). Working with a social organisation, I can prescribe some medicine to reduce the hangover resulted due to alcohol consumption.

In conclusion, awareness about the harm caused due to the heavy consumption of alcohol can be addressed to the public. taking everything into account, the harmful use of alcohol can have a negative impact on different aspects of human life, so different preventive measures are crucial in improving the existing scenario.