Clinical Trial: Implementing Screening and Brief Interventions for Excessive Drinkers in Primary Health Care

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Implementing Screening and Brief Interventions for Excessive Drinkers in Primary Health Care

Brief Summary: The objective of this study is to investigate the efficacy of an implementation program specifically designed to increase alcohol screening and brief intervention rates in primary health care.

Detailed Summary:

Alcohol is an important risk factor for several diseases, even when consumed moderately. Screening and advising at-risk drinkers to cut-down is a highly effective and cost-effective intervention when conducted in primary healthcare settings. However, these interventions are seldom implemented at the primary care level.

Twelve out of the 26 primary health care units of the Dão Lafões Grouping of Primary Health Care Centres will be randomized to two groups: the intervention arm will receive the new implementation program; the control group will be on a waiting list for receiving the implementation program and will receive the intervention after the testing phase of the trial is completed. The study will last for one year, starting in January 2017. The implementation program was designed in order to overcome known barriers for implementing alcohol screening and brief advice in primary health care. The Behaviour Change Wheel and the Theoretical Domains Framework were used to pinpoint the constructs and behaviour change techniques most suited to address the barriers in order to achieve practice changes.

Sponsor: Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Dão Lafões

Current Primary Outcome:

• Alcohol screening rate [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Percentage of eligible patients visiting the primary health care centre for an appointment with a general practitioner or nurse who were screened for alcohol use with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
• Brief intervention rate [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Percentage of patients who screened positive that were offered at least one brief intervention

Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

• Improvement of general practitioners attitudes toward at-risk drinkers [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire given before and after intervention. General practitioners are classified into a more positive or more negative attitudes group based on the answers given. The groups will be compared before and after.
• Improvement in knowledge related to alcohol screening and brief intervention [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Four multiple choice questions. These questions will measure the theoretical knowledge of health professionals to key concepts related to alcohol screening and brief intervention. The groups will be compared before and after.
• Improvement in barriers for implementing alcohol screening and brief intervention [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Level of agreement with 33 statements. Each statement can be mapped to a specific domain of the Theoretical Domains Framework. The groups will be compared before and after.
• Utility of materials used in the trial [ Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 months ]
  Level of agreement with 6 statements. Participants (intervention arm only) will be asked to rate the impact of the materials that were specifically produced to be used during the trial.

Original Secondary Outcome:

• Improvement of general practitioners attitudes toward at-risk drinkers [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire given before and after intervention. General practitioners are classified into a more positive or more negative attitudes group based on the answers given. The groups will be compared before and after.
• Improvement in knowledge related to alcohol screening and brief intervention [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Four multiple choice questions. These questions will measure the theoretical knowledge of health professionals to key concepts related to alcohol screening and brief intervention. The groups will be compared before and after.
• Improvement in barriers for implementing alcohol screening and brief intervention [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
  Level of agreement with 33 statements. Each statement can be mapped to a specific domain of the Theoretical Domains Framework. The groups will be compared before and after.
• Utility of materials used in the trial [ Time Frame: At the end of the trial ]
  Level of agreement with 6 statements. Participants (intervention arm only) will be asked to rate the impact of the materials that were specifically produced to be used during the trial.

Information By: Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Dão Lafões

Dates:
Date Received: November 16, 2016
Date Started: November 2016
Date Completion: December 2017
Last Updated: November 24, 2016
Last Verified: November 2016