Assessing midlife women for alcohol misuse: a nursing role

High-risk drinking by midlife women (35 to 59 years) in Australia has continued to increase (from 8% in 1995 to 16% in 2014) without there being a corresponding increase in healthcare treatment (Withnall et al 2014). Healthcare practitioners, particularly registered nurses, can enable early identification of an 'alcohol problem' and help to reduce misdiagnosis by applying the three age-focused, women-oriented recommendations developed from the Australian study, Researching with Women in Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders (RWR 2006-2014, Withnall et al 2014).