Skip to content

Brief Intervention in Primary Care for Problem Drug Use and Abuse

Brief Intervention in Primary Care for Problem Drug Use and Abuse

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00877331
Enrollment
868
Registered
2009-04-07
Start date
2009-04-30
Completion date
2014-09-30
Last updated
2014-10-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders

Keywords

Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Dependence, Drug Usage, Drug Use Disorders, Substance Abuse, Substance Addiction, Substance Dependence, Substance Use Disorders

Brief summary

This study will examine the effectiveness of a brief intervention in a primary care setting to reduce drug use or abuse compared to enhanced care as usual.

Detailed description

A substantial body of research has established the efficacy and effectiveness of brief interventions (BI) for excessive or hazardous alcohol use in patients seen in medical settings. Dissemination projects of brief interventions for alcohol and drugs have recently been implemented on a widespread scale. This rapid progression of brief intervention for drugs other than alcohol has outstripped its evidence base. The aims of the study as outlined in the grant are: 1. To examine whether BI is effective at improving outcomes (self-reported drug use and attendance in drug abuse treatment) in individuals with a wide range of problem drug use over and above enhanced care as usual. The enhanced control condition will consist of routine screening, patient notification, and referral for treatment. 2. To test whether fidelity to the BI model or lower severity of drug use is associated with better outcomes. 3. To estimate the impact of BI on several public health outcomes that are directly related to the hazardous effects of illicit drug use, including the use of acute health care services, involvement in the criminal justice system, employment, HIV risk behavior, and mortality. 4. To estimate the costs of the intervention, potential cost offsets, and its incremental cost-effectiveness versus enhanced usual care from the payer perspective based on health care service use and drug use frequency.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALBrief intervention using motivational interviewing

One brief, in-person motivational interviewing session (30-45 minutes) in conjunction with the medical appointment. Plus one brief follow-up phone call one week later.

Sponsors

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Washington
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* at least 18 years old * receive medical care at one of the participating primary care clinics at Harborview Medical Center/University of Washington Medical Center * will maintain care at the clinic for one year * have a phone or easy access to phone, voicemail, or email * used recreational drugs in the last 3 months * used prescription medications not as prescribed in the last 3 months

Exclusion criteria

* participation in any formal substance abuse treatment programs in the last 30 days (excluding 12-step or self-help groups) * terminal illness

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Use of illicit drugs in the past 30 daysbaseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 monthsUse of illicit drugs in the past 30 days will be measured by self-reported days of use in the past 30 days and validated by urine toxicological screen.
Enrollment in formal substance abuse treatmentbaseline up to 2 years post-interventionEnrollment in formal substance abuse treatment will be measured as an admission to chemical dependency treatment as recorded in the Washington State TARGET database.
Medical, legal, employment, social, and psychiatric outcomesbaseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 monthsMedical, legal, employment, social, and psychiatric outcomes will be measured by composite scores on the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) Lite.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Public health outcomesbaseline up to 2 years post-interventionPublic health outcomes will be measured by administrative data sources (emergency room visits, hospitalizations, hospital days, HIV risk behavior, arrests, and death).
Cost of the interventionbaseline up to 2 years post-interventionCost of the intervention will be measured using methods previously employed in the COMBINE study.
Incremental cost-effectivenessbaseline up to 2 years post-interventionIncremental cost-effectiveness will be measured from the payer perspective based on health care service use and drug use frequency.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 24, 2026