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Brief Intervention for Problem Drinkers in a Chinese Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial in a Hospital Setting
Author(s) -
Tsai YunFang,
Tsai MeiChu,
Lin YeaPyng,
Chen ChingYen
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00815.x
Subject(s) - randomized controlled trial , intervention (counseling) , medicine , population , psychology , psychiatry , environmental health , surgery
Background: Alcohol is a legal and accessible substance in Taiwan. As excessive alcohol has been linked to health and social problems, it is necessary to develop a brief, rapid, and low‐cost tool to help health care providers deal with persons in Taiwan whose alcohol consumption has become hazardous or harmful to their health. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial with 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐ups was designed. Eighteen medical/surgical units at a medical center in northern Taiwan were randomly assigned to 2 groups: experimental ( n = 9) and control ( n = 9). Inpatients on the units were enrolled if they met the following criteria: were older than 18 years, had no severe psychiatric illness, and were not pregnant. The experimental group ( n = 138) received the intervention, a 15‐minute counseling visit in which nurses screened participants using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), provided a health promotion booklet for adults, and individually discussed the booklet contents with patients based on their drinking level (AUDIT score). The control group ( n = 137) received no treatment. Patterns of alcohol consumption were determined by AUDIT scores at baseline, 6, and 12 months later. Results: Alcohol use disorders identification test scores decreased significantly in both groups at 6 months after the intervention, but did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. However, 12 months after the brief alcohol intervention, experimental subjects’ AUDIT scores were significantly better than those of the control group. Conclusions: Our brief alcohol intervention provided a 12‐month benefit for problem drinkers in Taiwan.