Effectiveness of Brief Interventions After Alcohol-Related Vehicular Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Whether the reductions in alcohol consumption and traffic citations were a result of the crash, hospitalization for injury, screening for alcohol use, or combination of these factors is difficult to determine. Further work is needed to understand the mechanisms involved in reductions of health-related outcomes and the role of brief intervention in this population.

A systematic review of emergency care brief alcohol interventions for injury patients

“…Fourteen studies satisfied the inclusion criteria and were included in this review: Antti-Poika and Karaharju (1988); Blow et al (2006); Daeppen et al (2007); Dauer, Rubio, Coris, and Valls (2006); Gentilello et al (1999);Longabaugh et al (2001); Maio et al (2005); Mello et al (2005);Neumann et al (2006); Runge (2002) ;Schermer, Moyers, Miller, and Bloomfield (2006) ;Smith, Hodgson, Bridgeman, and Shepherd (2003); Soderstrom et al (2007); Sommers et al (2006). The studies are referred to by the name of the first author in the text as well as in Tables 1 and 2.…”

“…A BI typically consists of one to four short, 5-to 20-minute counseling sessions with a trained interventionist, for example, a physician, nurse, psychologist, or social worker (Moyer, Finney, Swearingen, & Vergun, 2002). Emphasis is often placed on self-help techniques and relatively limited involvement by professionals (Maio, 1995;Sommers et al, 2006). BI can be based on a number of different therapeutic approaches, although motivational interviewing techniques have become increasingly popular (Dunn & Ostafin, 2005).…”

A Controlled Trial of Brief Intervention Versus Brief Advice for At-Risk Drinking Trauma Center Patients

“…A subsequent randomized control trial of a brief intervention in a population of injured drinkers treated in an emergency department also documented decreases in drinking at 1 year for both intervention and control subjects, but found significant decreases in alcohol-related consequences only among patients who had both the brief intervention and a second "booster" session postdischarge. 18 In light of the above mentioned reports and others studies indicating the feasibility of performing interventions in trauma centers 19 and emergency departments, 20,21 a recommendation to "make screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment routine practice in trauma centers" was promulgated after an intense 2.5-day dialogue among a group of trauma surgeons, emergency department physicians, substance abuse clinicians, health policy makers, and others in the spring of 2003. 22 Subsequently, the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons has adopted such a recommendation that both Level I and II trauma centers screen for alcohol use problems and that Level I centers offer intervention.…”

“…Further, only patients who received intervention booster sessions had significant decreases in alcohol-related consequences. In a study of nondependent patients injured in alcohol-related crashes, Sommers and colleagues 19 found significant decreases in the incidence of binge drinking 12 months after acute care among those who received a brief intervention, those who received simple advice, and controls. Finally, D'Onofrio and colleagues 39 recently presented their results of a randomized control trial of brief intervention versus brief advice in a population of injured patients treated in an emergency department who were assessed to be hazardous/harmful drinkers.…”

“…12 The important question posed by the current study and the studies discussed above 18,19,39 is, do interventions work? To answer that question, one must ask what constitutes an intervention.…”