Hazardous Drinking
Conditions
Keywords
Hazardous drinking, general hospital, brief intervention, Motivational Interviewing, computer-generated feedback, stage-tailored, delivery channel
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to investigate whether motivation-tailored alcohol interventions are more effective when delivered by person or by computer-generated feedback letters. A sample of 920 general hospital inpatients with risky drinking will be recruited through a computerized screening procedure. Patients with more severe alcohol problems will be excluded from the study. Participants will be allocated by time frame randomization to one of three study arms: (1) personal counseling based on Motivational Interviewing, (2) computer-expert system intervention that generates individualized feedback-letters, and (3) control group (treatment-as-usual). The interventions differ in their channel of delivery, but not regarding their content. Both intervention groups receive interventions at three time points: directly after the baseline-assessment at the general hospital, and 1 and 3 months later by mail and phone, respectively. Outcome will be assessed six, 12, 18 and 24 months after baseline.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPersonal Counseling
At three time-points, participants receive counseling by health professionals trained in Motivational Interviewing based counseling. To assure that both interventions do not differ in their content, individual manuals generated by a software program are used. Counseling will be face-to-face during the hospital stay, and by phone one and three months later.
BEHAVIORALComputer-generated feedback letters
At three time points, participants receive feedback letters, tailored to the stages of change according to the TTM, and generated by a computer software program. The first letter is handed out during their hospital stay and includes normative feedback. One and three months later, participants receive ipsative feedback letters by mail.
Sponsors
German Cancer Aid
University Medicine Greifswald
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 64 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* General hospital inpatients with risky drinking (AUDIT-C \>= 4/5 (women/men) and AUDIT \< 20)
Exclusion criteria
* Patients already recruited during an earlier hospital stay * Patients physically and mentally not capable of participating in the study * Patients with a hospital stay of less than 24 hours * Patients with insufficient language/ reading skills * Patients employed at one of the departments participating in the study or conducting the study * Patients with more severe alcohol problems (AUDIT \>= 20)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Risky drinking | 6, 12, 18, 24 months | Determined by using average alcohol consumption per day, heavy occasional drinking, highest blood alcohol concentration, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) score |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Attempts to reduce drinking | 6, 12, 18, 24 months | — |
| Knowledge about drinking limits | 6, 12, 18, 24 months | — |
| Self-efficacy scores | 6 months | Assessed by a modified short-form of the Alcohol-Abstinence-Self-Efficacy-Scale (AASE). The modified form assesses self-efficacy regarding compliance with drinking limits. |
| Motivation to reduce drinking | 6, 12, 18, 24 months | Assessed by a stages of change-algorithm |
| Self-rated health | 6, 12, 18, 24 months | — |
| Health care utilization | 6, 12, 18, 24 months | — |
| Decisional balance scores | 6 months | Assessed by a short form of the Alcohol Decisional Balance Scale (ADBS) |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed