OBJECTIVES: The relative effects of simple advice and brief counseling were evaluated with heavy drinkers identified in primary care and other health settings in eight countries. METHODS: Subjects (1260 men, 299 women) with no prior history of alcohol dependence were selected if they consumed alcohol with sufficient frequency or intensity to be considered at risk of alcohol-related problems. Subjects were randomly assigned to a control group, a simple advice group, or a group receiving brief counseling. Seventy-five percent of subjects were evaluated 9 months later. RESULTS:Male patients exposed to the interventions reported approximately 17% lower average daily alcohol consumption than those in the control group. Reductions in the intensity of drinking were approximately 10%. For women, significant reductions were observed in both the control and the intervention groups. Five minutes of simple advice were as effective as 20 minutes of brief counseling. CONCLUSIONS: Brief interventions are consistently robust across health care settings and sociocultural groups and can make a significant contribution to the secondary prevention of alcohol-related problems if they are widely used in primary care.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: The relative effects of simple advice and brief counseling were evaluated with heavy drinkers identified in primary care and other health settings in eight countries. METHODS: Subjects (1260 men, 299 women) with no prior history of alcohol dependence were selected if they consumed alcohol with sufficient frequency or intensity to be considered at risk of alcohol-related problems. Subjects were randomly assigned to a control group, a simple advice group, or a group receiving brief counseling. Seventy-five percent of subjects were evaluated 9 months later. RESULTS: Male patients exposed to the interventions reported approximately 17% lower average daily alcohol consumption than those in the control group. Reductions in the intensity of drinking were approximately 10%. For women, significant reductions were observed in both the control and the intervention groups. Five minutes of simple advice were as effective as 20 minutes of brief counseling. CONCLUSIONS: Brief interventions are consistently robust across health care settings and sociocultural groups and can make a significant contribution to the secondary prevention of alcohol-related problems if they are widely used in primary care.
Authors: Kimberly S H Yarnall; Kathryn I Pollak; Truls Østbye; Katrina M Krause; J Lloyd Michener Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2003-04 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Edward Bernstein; Judith Bernstein; James Feldman; William Fernandez; Melissa Hagan; Patricia Mitchell; Clara Safi; Robert Woolard; Mike Mello; Janette Baird; Christina Lee; Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi; Kerry Broderick; Kathryn A Laperrier; Arthur Kellermann; Marlena M Wald; Robert E Taylor; Kim Walton; Michelle Grant-Ervin; Denise Rollinson; David Edwards; Theodore Chan; Dan Davis; Jean Buchanan Marshall; Robert Aseltine; Amy James; Elizabeth Schilling; Khamis Abu-Hasaballah; Brigitte M Baumann; Edwin D Boudreaux; Ronald F Maio; Rebecca M Cunningham; Teresa Murrell; David Doezema; Deirdre Anglin; Adriana Eliassen; Marcus Martin; Jesse Pines; Leslie Buchanan; James Turner; Gail D'Onofrio; Linda C Degutis; Patricia Owens Journal: Subst Abus Date: 2007 Impact factor: 3.716
Authors: Henry R Kranzler; Jonathan Covault; Richard Feinn; Stephen Armeli; Howard Tennen; Albert J Arias; Joel Gelernter; Timothy Pond; Cheryl Oncken; Kyle M Kampman Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2014-04 Impact factor: 18.112