Alcohol Consumption, Alcohol Dependence
Conditions
Keywords
Alcohol, Alcohol abuse, Alcohol dependence, Utilization, Alcohol consumption, Unhealthy alcohol use, Hospitalization, Screening, Brief Intervention, Motivational Interviewing, Randomized trial, Effectiveness, Unhealthy alcohol use (Risky alcohol consumption amounts, problem alcohol use, hazardous alcohol use, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence)
Brief summary
The objective of this project was to test whether screening and brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use leads to improved alcohol-related outcomes (such as alcohol consumption and linkage to alcohol assistance) and is cost-effective.
Detailed description
In this study the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use in a diverse group of hospitalized medical patients was tested. We conducted a randomized trial of medical inpatients with the whole spectrum of alcohol problems from risky use through dependence. Subjects in one group received standard care; subjects in the second group received a brief motivational intervention tailored to the severity of his or her alcohol problem. Primary outcomes are alcohol consumption and linkage to alcohol treatment. Additional outcomes include health-related quality of life, health care utilization, alcohol problems, and readiness to change. Costs, and clinical outcomes measured in quality-adjusted life years, a standard metric that allows comparison to other chronic illnesses, will be compared in a cost-effectiveness analysis.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBrief Intervention (adaptation of motivational interviewing)
Sponsors
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
University of Pittsburgh
Boston University
Boston Medical Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 18 years of age or older * Fluent in English or Spanish * Consume risky amounts of alcohol * Provide 2 contacts to assist with follow-up * Have no plans to move from the local area within a year of screening * Score \>21 on Mini-Mental State Examination (no serious cognitive impairment)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Linkage to alcohol assistance | — |
| Change in drinks per day | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Change in drinks per day | — |
| Drinking risky amounts (dichotomous) | — |
| Binge drinking (dichotomous) | — |
| Change in the number of times a subject exceeded per occasion limits | — |
| Emergency Department visits | — |
| Health related quality of life | — |
| Readiness to change alcohol use | — |
| Hospitalization | — |
| Abstinence (dichotomous) | — |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed