CHCAOD004: Assess Needs of Clients with Alcohol and Drug Issues

This text discusses various aspects of CHCAOD004, including formative assessments, personal information protection, SDS assessment tool, patient assessment, comorbidities, and more. It emphasizes the importance of culturally competent care and patient-centered approach to treatment. The text also mentions the 'Aboriginal Sobriety Group', an AOD service that provides culturally appropriate care to indigenous and minority communities in Australia.

Running head: CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH AOD ISSUES
CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND OTHER
DRUG ISSUES: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
Formative assessments
Activity 1
Question 2
The needs of the client can be identified by the following methods:
1. Listening patiently to the client during interaction.
2. Empathizing with client during interaction.
3. Offering demonstrations of the services or products provided.
4. Conducting feedback through questionnaires or surveys.
5. Interviewing clients about their experiences or preferences.
Question 3
Three examples of client information which can be accessed include:
1. Past medical history of the client.
2. Recent reports of diagnostic or biochemical tests.
3. Present usage of medications and symptoms.
Question 4
The healthcare workers must engage in the following three communication skills for the
purpose of identifying the reasons for seeking help from a client:
1. Listening patiently: The worker must allow the client to speak with freedom and
restrictions during communication in order to allow him or her to express the problem
and need for help with ease. As the client continues to express, the worker must no

2CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
interrupt the client and allow to him or her to speak freely, followed by active listening
by the worker. The worker must listen carefully to the client’s need which will not only
lead to understanding the reasons for seeking help but also create a supportive
environment for the client.
2. Reflection and Empathy: The workers must reflect upon what the client has spoken
about and then empathize or place themselves in the shoes of the client. This will not
only lead to understanding of the client’s reasons for seeking help but will also allow the
worker to fully understand what the client is going through.
3. Cultural competence: The worker must communicate on the basis of the cultural
background of the client and be sensitive to their unique and diverse ethnical, linguistic
and spiritual beliefs, needs and preferences.
Activity 2
Question 1
Personal information that is protected by the privacy legislation refers to the Privacy Act
of 1988 in Australia, which outlines the regulations to be followed for safe handling of personal
confidential data. Examples of such personal information include a person’s name, their
signature, residential and contact details, birth records and additional details of medications,
bank accounts, opinions or commentaries.
Question 2
1. Provision of informed consent where the counselor must explain about confidentiality
and the which information will be kept confidential along with usage of state laws which

3CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
explain situations give the right to break confidentiality. The clients must be informed
concerning recording of counseling sessions.
2. Explanation of procedures which the AOD organization will use to protect
confidentiality.
3. Provision of counseling records to the client and instructing them to maintain copies of
the same for future references.
Activity 3
Question 1
The purpose of an SDS assessment tool is to provide essential information on hazardous
chemicals, their nature and composition, the resultant physiological risks, procedures for
emergencies, storing and handling and steps for their safe disposal.
Question 2
In order to confirm the client’s understanding of the purpose and process of assessment,
the staff can conduct feedback procedures in the form of surveys or questionnaires which can
contain questions enquiring about client’s level of knowledge on the organizational principles
and services.
Question 3
Information about the legalized guidelines and regulations of occupational health and
safety assessments along with preparation of safety data sheets are available online as well as in
the form of brochures and booklets in the website of ‘Safe Work Australia’, which the
organization can keep. These resources can be used while interacting with the client to explain

4CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
purposes and processes of assessment. The organization may also conduct interactive sessions
with the client or present simple audiovisual or pictorial materials to help the client understand.
Activity 4
Question 1
The primary and one of the most essential steps of patient assessment includes obtaining
details about their past drug or alcohol abuse. This is necessary since it will provide the worker
or concerned practitioner an overview or clinical understanding of the underlying reasons behind
symptoms presented by the client. This will lead in the accurate selection and usage of screening
or diagnostic tools further resulting in provision of high quality treatment. The availability of a
drug or alcohol abuse history will also allow the worker to predict the possibilities of the client to
relapse during or after the treatment, which will further determine diseases management
procedures which can be used for the client.
Question 2
1. “Would it be okay for you if I asked about your drug abuse?”
2. “When was the last day when you did not use drugs?”
3. “Do you remember any incident(s) when you used drugs or felt high?”
4. “How many times do engage in drug usage in a day/week?”
5. “How do you feel on days when you don’t use drugs?”

5CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
Activity 5
Question 1
The term ‘co-morbidity’ implies the presence of diseases which are occurring
concurrently in addition to the primary disease identified in the patient. The term ‘dual
diagnosis’ often refers to the simultaneous presence of a substance abuse disorder along with a
mental health issue in the patient. It is necessary to know that a co-morbidity or dual diagnosis
can impact the client, since this will affect treatment and will require specialized services to
mitigate this complex disease situation. Often patients suffering from mental illnesses use
alcohol or drugs to subdue their symptom, is the major reason for knowing the impact of co-
morbidities on the health of the client.
Question 2
In order to respond to a client who is suffering from possible mental illness, suicide risk
or AOD issues, the workers must immediately conduct an assessment of symptoms with the help
of assessment and screening tools for the purpose of accurately diagnosis and providing
treatment to the client.
Question 3
1. The staff may engage in forming cordial relationships with additional professionals and
specialists in order to provide a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to the client for the
purpose of managing complex symptoms through complimentary treatment procedures.
2. The staff may share complex information of the client to associated friends and families
or nearest support or self help group services for management of multiple symptoms.

6CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
3. The staff can advocate for such clients in order to gain greater support from specialist
services.
4. Staff can engage in providing combination of primary as well as specialist care
therapeutic procedures.
5. The staff must also include the management of stereotypes, myths, stigmas and low self
esteem present in the client.
Activity 6
Question 1
Families who are comprised of members suffering from alcohol and drug issues are
burdened with detrimental financial conditions. Drinking at an early age disturb the cognitive
development of the child leading to expensive educational interventions in the future. Families
with AOD members incur almost double the expenses in medical care as compared to healthy
families. Abuse of drugs and alcohol also leads to expensive aged care treatments amongst the
elderly population.
Question 2
People who are in relationships in clients often display emotional distresses due to the
levels of high emotional stresses present in such patients. Such patients find it difficult to gain
control over their impulses or exhibit healthy coping skills during adverse life situations since
they rely on alcohol or drugs to manage symptoms of stress. This leads to lack of adequate
regulation of stress and the resultant emergence of anger and conflicts with their partners,
resulting in increasing prevalence of emotional distress.

7CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
Activity 7
Question 1
1. Incident Report
2. Life Status Review Checklist
3. Self Assessment Tool
4. Risk Assessment
5. Interviews with Client and Stakeholders
Question 2
Psychometric test is a type of psychological test which aims to evaluate a clients
behavioral characteristics, cognitive abilities, personality aspects and aptitude for the purpose of
measuring how suitable a client is for a role.
Question 3
The purpose of screening tools is to aid in the appropriate diagnosis of client upon which
treatment procedures will follow. Hence, screening tools which are to be used for the diagnosis
of the client, must be reliable and valid since it documents or resources which have high validity
or have undergone some authorization are known to present accurate results. Accurate results
from screening will aid in the accurate disease diagnosis and appropriate treatment procedures
for the client leading to improved health outcomes.
Question 4
1. Psychiatrists
2. Counselors
3. Nutritionists

8CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
Question 5
1. “Would you be alright if I asked about your substance abuse?”
2. “When was the last day when you did not engage in substance usage?”
3. “Do you remember any incident(s) when you lost control due to drug usage?”
4. “How many times a day/week do you engage in substance use?”
5. “How do you feel on days when you don’t engage in substance usage?”
6. “What type of situations or reasons compel you to engage in substance use?”
7. “Since how long have you been engaged in substance usages?”
8. “What type of drugs do you usually use?”
9. “Do you have friends who also possess the same habits?”
10. “Are you aware of the health effects of substance use?”
Activity 8
Question 1
1. Prevalence of tolerance to the drug or substance.
2. Prevalence of withdrawal symptoms upon avoidance of the drug or substance.
3. Prevalence of nausea or vomiting.
4. Increased sweating, palpitations and irritability.
5. Feelings of fatigue and tiredness or difficulty to sleep.
Question 2
The disease condition of a client may be complex with the presence of multiple
symptoms. Hence, for adequate recovery and long term positive health outcomes the chosen

9CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
treatment must address all issues of the client to provide a holistic treatment, prevent relapse and
induce complete and rapid recovery.
Question 3
1. Physiological issues like fatigue, vomiting, nausea and lack of sleep.
2. Emotional issues like irritability, lack of sleep, anger and depression.
3. Social issues like social isolation and avoidance of social relationships, events or
interactions.
Activity 9
Question 1
The results obtained from the assessment of the clients are required to be recorded in
accordance to the guidelines presented by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). The
records of the results can be stored electronically, following which the organization must be
ensure the security, retention, accessibility and confidentiality of the same in compliance to the
ASQA standards.
Question 2
1. The staff must ensure that the assessment results are stored securely along with the
protection of the confidentiality of the clients.
2. The staff can use the assessment results to diagnose the disease condition of the client.
3. The staff can use the assessment results to design a treatment plan for the client.
Question 3
A number of Alcohol and Drug Abuse services are available in Australia, of which one of
the notable services would include the ‘Aboriginal Sobriety Group’. This AOD service strives to

10CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
aid in the treatment and assistance of individuals suffering from alcohol dependence of substance
abuse symptoms, who are further belonging to Aboriginal or diverse ethnic communities of
minority cultural groups. The inclusion criteria of this service includes patients hailing from
Aboriginal or indigenous populations suffering from AOD issues. The service is provided at the
community level and aims to present strategies of intervention for crisis management, screening
of patients, health promotion, treatment and rehabilitation of indigenous individuals who are
inflicted with substance or drug abuse, alcohol dependence and presence of additional co-
morbidities. The service also provides rehabilitation residential center for patients, and culturally
competent care to ethnically diverse patients through recognition of the prevalent health
disparities in such communities. The service also provides facilities of Aboriginal people who
are devoid of adequate residential facilities or are suffering from homelessness. Early
intervention programs are executed by this service for the purpose of adequately diagnosing and
treating clients. For patients who may require advanced specialist care, the service also provides
referral procedures in the form of options such as interagency as well as self-referral methods.
Considering the prevalence of discrimination and lack of equity of healthcare services faced by
Aboriginal and indigenous communities, this usage of the culturally competent and culturally
appropriate care forms the cornerstones of treatment in this AOD service, hence, serving a
beneficial role in the betterment and health promotion of such minority groups.
Activity 10
Question 1
Upon conductance of such assessment tools, staff must communicate the results of the
client for the purpose of appropriate performance of patient or client centered support. This can
be done by conducting appropriate patient centered approach to treatment where the practitioner

11CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
or staff must include the patient in the decision-making process of the treatment plan. This can
be further done by conducting extensive discussions and interactions of the staff with the client
which involve presentation of the results reports and explanation of the information provided by
the respective staff.
Question 2
Clients should be asked to provide feedback concerning the assessment so performed for
the purpose of successful conductance of patient centered approach. The prevalence of feedback
by the client is essential since it will reflect the client’s needs, preferences and views about the
service provided to them, which can be further used by staff to improve their organizational
functions. Obtaining feedback from the client will also lead to client participation in the decision
making process resulting in development of treatment plans focusing upon the needs of the
client, further leading to improved health outcomes and patient satisfaction.
Activity 11
Question 1
1. The staff must evaluate the client’s condition to observe whether he or she requires
surgical or radiological diagnostic procedures.
2. The staff must study the onset, duration and nature of the client’s symptoms, to evaluate
whether any of these lie beyond the scope of the healthcare organization.
3. The staff may follow up the client to evaluate his or her health status. If the client’s
disease condition is prolonged or has relapsed, despite providing the usual treatments.
4. The staff check the presence of co-morbidities in the client.

12CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
Question 2
1. By contacting the nearest hospital.
2. By contacting the nearest community health center.
3. By contacting individual general practitioners.
Question 3
1. When the client requires a multidisciplinary treatment approach due to complex disease
condition or presence of co-morbidities.
2. When the treatment of the client’s disease condition lie beyond the scope of the
healthcare organization.
3. When the patient has relapsed or is taking too long to recover despite receiving
conventional treatment.
4. When the patient requires surgical treatment.
Question 4
1. Diet consultation services by a nutritionist.
2. Exercise supervision by a fitness trainer.
3. Psychometric tests and psychotherapy by a psychologist.
4. Eye and vision check up by an ophthalmologist.
5. Dental and oral examination by a dentist.
Question 5
1. “Will you be alright if we discuss your condition to other specialists?”

13CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
2. “Could you please tell us how you are feeling right now so that we can make your
treatment better?”
3. “Could you please tell us what you felt was lacking in our treatment?”
4. “Which symptoms do you feel have been affecting you the most?”
5. Would you be alright in speaking to another specialist about your condition?”
Activity 12
Question 1
1. Self-help groups
2. Psychologists
3. Nutritionists
4. Fitness or exercise trainers
5. Counsellors
Question 2
Before making a referral, the staff must consider obtaining the consent and decision of
the client. Further, the staff must also ensure prior to the referral services that the details of the
client are kept confidential, along with the provision of a non-disclosure document. The staff
must critically evaluate the symptoms and present condition of the client since this will
determine the type of referral service required.
Activity 13
Question 1
Assessment information of the client must be provided to others, for the following
reasons:

14CHCAOD004: ASSESS NEEDS OF CLIENTS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ISSUES
1. During the process of providing a multidisciplinary approach to treatment for the client,
since a number of patients will be involved in managing the disease condition of the
client.
2. During the process of referring the client to a referral service, which requires the
involvement of more than one specialist in order to treat the complex needs of the client.
3. During a situation when the client may be required to undergo surgical procedures or
additional radiological diagnostic tools which lie beyond the scope of the existing
healthcare organization.