| Summary: | 博士 === 高雄醫學大學 === 護理學研究所 === 102 === Excessive alcohol consumption is a worldwide issue and is a serious health problem among aborigines in Taiwan. This study aims to examine the prevalence, correlates and adverse drinking effects of hazardous alcohol use among aboriginal people in southern and to examine the effectiveness of auricular acupressure for hazardous alcohol use.
In the first stage, a cross sectional survey was designed. The Chinese version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used as the main measurement tool in this study. The participants were interviewed in their homes with structured questionnaires by well-trained interviewers. A total of 449 aboriginal people (80.5% valid response rate) were recruited from two townships with interval sampling method in southern Taiwan. In the second stage, hazardous alcohol users (AUDIT scores &;#8805;8) were recruited from the participants of the first stage study, which were divided into an auricular acupressure intervention group and a control group by convenience sampling method. The auricular acupressure intervention on single ear was implemented for the acupressure group (n=35) five days a week for six weeks. The control group (n=43) received no intervention. Data were collected via questionnaires at baseline and at 2 weeks and 3 months after the completion of the intervention. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyze the data.
The results were as follows: the prevalence of hazardous alcohol use among Community-dwelling aborigines was 59.7% (268/449), including 26.7% medium risk level (AUDIT = 8–15) and 33% high risk level (AUDIT &;#8805;16). The analyses of multiple logistic regression indicated that male participants, who were inactive in religious practice, who had experienced serious stressful events, who smoke cigarettes, or who chew betel quid were more likely to engage in hazardous alcohol use. Meanwhile, the aboriginal people who were hazardous alcohol users were more likely to have experienced an inability to work or disputes with others.
The results of the intervention study indicated that the auricular acupressure intervention was no significant effect on hazardous alcohol use. After further analysis, the drinking frequency of users in the auricular acupressure intervention group was significantly reduced compared to that of users in the control group at 2 weeks after the completion of the intervention.
The auricular acupressure is a convenient and non-invasive method of intervention, which could be implemented as a strategy to reduce hazardous drinking by health care workers in aboriginal communities.
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