Factors Influencing Readiness to Change in Patients with Alcoholic Liver Disease: a Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION Readiness to change (RC) refers to the willingness or psychological preparedness for changing alcohol use. Knowledge regarding factors influencing RC is crucial for developing alcohol treatment plans. AIMS The study's purpose is to investigate RC and its influencing factors in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD). The factors explored include demographics, disease characteristics, drinking severity, self-stigma, depression, social support, and self-efficacy. METHOD This is a cross-sectional study using self-reported questionnaires. RESULTS Eighty-seven patients with ALD were recruited. Their scores in all three dimensions of readiness, recognition, ambivalence, and taking-steps, were low. Self-stigma, age, and drinking severity explained 32.3% variation in recognition. Drinking severity and age explained 21.5% variation in ambivalence. Self-efficacy, depression, and age explained 19.3% variation in taking-teps. DISCUSSION Instead of negative associations, we found that age, drinking severity, self-stigma, and depression were positively associated with RC. Younger patients with higher drinking severity, higher self-stigma, higher self-efficacy, and severer depression are more likely to change alcohol use. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Mental health nurses should consider factors such as age, drinking severity, self-stigma, self-efficacy, and depression; while trying to increase patients' RC. More specifically, strategies to increase self-efficacy and interventions to support coping are needed. RELEVANCE STATEMENT Many ALD patients needing treatment for problematic alcohol use can be effectively managed in primary care with appropriate specialist support. An experienced specialist mental health nurse can play this role. Mental health nurses are important members of alcohol addiction treatment teams. Traditionally, most nurses working in alcohol therapy services have been mental health specialists and work in a partnership model with physicians and other healthcare professionals. The influencing factors found in this study can further inform mental health nurses to recognize and work more effectively with ALD patients' alcohol problems.