Effectiveness of auriculo therapy as a nursing intervention to improve wellness in alcohol-addicted young adults

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Social changes derived from variations in dynamics and composition of population, which doubled in 1981 and is expected to do the same again in 2020, the multiple economic crisis and an accelerated social and cultural opening, influenced by modernization and globalization processes, have affected people's life in individual, familiar and social spheres. In all of them alcohol abuse and its consequences are present. This allows us to identify alcoholism as a common phenomenon in modern society. Alcohol consumption has been signalled as an acute epidemiological trouble worldwide, as it represents 4% of the total death risk in the world. Regarding morbidity, the main diseases associated to alcohol abuse are the following: psychiatric disorders in 100% of the cases, hepatic cirrhosis in 32% of them and troubles related to violence, homicide and accidents in 9% of the cases. In a lower percentage, we have neoplastic of the mouth and breast cancer. In virtue of these figures, we can conclude that alcoholism is the most important factor affecting the loss of years of healthy life worldwide. In Mexico, addictions represent big challenges for the new millennium; particularly, alcohol abuse is an endemic and alarming problem and a largely spread social phenomenon. Mexico is placed 10th in an alcohol consumption ranking in Latin America with 71.3% of the total population (77,988,554 people) aged 12 to 65 years old. It is placed below other countries, such as Chili, Argentina, Venezuela or Brazil. Considering these figures, we can affirm that 63 in every 100 Mexican men aged 12 to 65 years old consume alcohol regularly. Regarding women, 41 in every 100 are regular alcohol consumers. It is worthy to mention that the per capita consumption of ethanol was 7.2 L, consumers being aged 18 to 65 years old. The most consumed drinks among young people are the following: beer (41.1%), spirits (23.6%) and wine (6.6%). The intervention with auriculotherapy was effective to stimulate the energy channels with specific auricular points, restoring the energy flow and allowing energy equilibrium. The improvement of the general wellness was expressed by the patients as a rising vitality, a general state of well-being with themselves and with the environment, a capacity to enjoy personal, family and social activities, and a positive emotional state. Rogers' theory mentions that the effectiveness of an intervention or reshuffle on an energy field can be measured by the wellness level attained by the patient, and she suggest that health personnel, particularly nurses, must use alternative therapies as part of a nursing care program, in the aim of better contributing to solve public health problems. The present work presented some information to enhance future research on the effectiveness of non-intrusive alternative care techniques in the context of prevention and treatment of addictions and other pathologies. Genetic, emotional and motivational factors should probably be taken into account as part of the study variables, as well as the development of cognitive and praxeological skills in health personnel to carry out this kind of interventions.

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