Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on February 7, 2005
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2005 40(3):219-226; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh137
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ADDING PSYCHOLOGIST'S INTERVENTION TO PHYSICIANS' ADVICE TO PROBLEM DRINKERS IN THE OUTPATIENT CLINIC
1 Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Overschiestraat 65, 1062 Amsterdam, 2 Centre for Quality of Care Research and 3 Expert Centre for Chronic Fatigue, UMC St Radboud Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Tel.: +31 20 408 7870; Fax: +31 20 408 7862; E-mail: emmen{at}aiar.nl
(Received 21 July 2004; first review notified 23 August 2004; in revised form 5 January 2005; accepted 6 January 2005; Advance Access publication 7 February 2005)
Aims: To test the effectiveness of a brief psychological intervention for problem drinking among outpatients in a hospital setting. Methods: Over a period of 3 years physicians screened patients who visited an outpatient clinic for general internal medicine for problem drinking. Of the 4728 patients screened, 284 (6%) scored positive on problem drinking of whom 123 participated in the study. They received a computerized baseline assessment and were randomly allocated to a brief psychosocial intervention given by a psychologist (Dutch version of W. R. Millers' Drinker's Check-Up) (n = 61) or to ‘care as usual’ (n = 62). They were followed up at 6 months. The outcome measures were alcohol consumption and the increase in motivation to reduce alcohol consumption. Results: Most patients reduced their alcohol consumption over time, but no differences were found between the intervention and control groups. A slightly, but not significantly, larger proportion of patients who received the intervention increased their motivation to change. Conclusions: No conclusive evidence was found for the effectiveness of adding a brief psychological intervention to the physician's advice for problem drinking among outpatients in a hospital setting.