A 45-year-old woman is being seen at a free clinic and states she needs help because "her husband drinks heavily and it is ruining her family." The best nursing intervention would be:

Question

A) Call the husband's family and friends to obtain support for an intervention.
B) Allow the woman to express her feelings and assess for codependent behaviors.
C) Call the police and have the man arrested for alcohol abuse and have him hospitalized.
D) Remind the woman that her husband's alcohol problem is not her fault and that it is simply a defect in her husband's character.

Answer 1

Ans: B
Feedback: Assessment of the problem requires the woman to first express her feelings and then assess her position in the relationship, codependent people tend to manifest unhealthy patterns in relationships with others and the family dynamics need to be assessed prior to diagnosis and the development of a care plan. Option A is incorrect; it would be premature to call the husband's family and friends to obtain support for an intervention. Option C is incorrect; the husband has done nothing illegal at this point.
Option D, reminding the woman that her husband's alcohol problem is not her fault, would be appropriate but alcoholism is a disease, not a defect in her husband's character.