Effect of screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment for unhealthy alcohol and other drug use in mental health treatment settings: a randomized controlled trial.

AIMS: To test the efficacy of a brief intervention to reduce alcohol or drug use and to promote use of addiction services among patients seeking mental health treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING: A multi-centre, longitudinal, two-group randomized controlled trial with randomization within each of two mental health treatment systems located in Ventura County and Los Angeles County in California, USA. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 718 patients (49.2% female) aged 18 and older with a mental health diagnosis and either a heavy drinking day or any use of cannabis or stimulants in the past 90 days. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: A motivation-based brief intervention with personalized feedback (screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) condition) (n = 354) or a health education session (control condition) (n = 364). MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes included frequency of heavy drinking days, days of cannabis use and days of stimulant use at the primary end-point 3 months post-baseline. Secondary outcomes included frequency and abstinence from substance use out to a 12-month follow-up and the use of addiction treatment services. FINDINGS: Participants in the SBIRT condition had fewer heavy drinking days [odds ratio (OR) = 0.53; 95% credible interval (CrI) = 0.48-0.6] and fewer days of stimulant use (OR = 0.58; 95% CrI = 0.50-0.66) at the 3-month follow-up compared with participants in the health education condition. Participants in the SBIRT condition did not comparatively reduce days of cannabis use at the 3-month follow-up (OR = 0.93; 95% CrI = 0.85-1.01). Secondary outcomes indicated sustained effects of SBIRT on reducing the frequency of heavy drinking days and days of stimulant use. No effects were observed on abstinence rates or use of addiction treatment services. CONCLUSIONS: Screening and brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol and drug use in mental health treatment settings were effective at reducing the frequency of heavy drinking and stimulant use.

Receipt of addiction treatment as a consequence of a brief intervention for drug use in primary care: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Screening, brief intervention and 'referral to treatment' programs have been promoted widely as US federal policy. Little is known about the efficacy of the RT component (referral to treatment) of brief intervention for motivating patients with unhealthy drug use identified by screening to use addiction treatment. This study aimed to compare receipt of addiction treatment following two types of brief intervention for drug use versus a no-intervention control group among primary care patients screening positive for drug use. DESIGN: Secondary analyses from a single-site randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Massachusetts, USA. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 528 adults with Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) drug-specific scores ≥ 4. INTERVENTIONS: Random assignment to: (1) a 10-15-minute brief negotiated interview (BNI) conducted by health educators (n = 174), (2) a 30-45-minute adaptation of motivational interviewing by Masters-level counselors (MOTIV) (n = 177) or (3) no BI (n = 177). All received a list of treatment and mutual help resources; both intervention protocols included dedicated staff for treatment referrals. MEASUREMENTS: Receipt of any addiction treatment within 6 months after study entry, assessed in a state-wide database and hospital electronic medical record linked to trial data. FINDINGS: Among 528 participants, the main drugs used were marijuana (63%), cocaine (19%) and opioids (17%); 46% met past-year drug dependence criteria (short form Composite International Diagnostic Interview); and 10% of MOTIV, 18% of BNI and 17% of control participants had any addiction treatment receipt within 6 months after study entry. There was no significant difference in addiction treatment receipt for BNI versus control [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.11; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57, 2.15, Hochberg adjusted P = 0.76]. The MOTIV group had lower odds of linking to treatment (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.78, Hochberg adjusted P = 0.02) compared with the no BI group. CONCLUSION: Brief intervention delivered in primary care for screen-identified drug use did not increase addiction treatment receipt significantly; a motivational interviewing approach appeared to be counterproductive.

Commentary on Gelberg et al. 2015: Alcohol and other drug screening and brief intervention--evidence in crisis.

Most evidence suggests that drug screening and brief intervention (SBI) is not efficacious. Conflicting study results may be due to different interventions, and methodological differences may explain most positive SBI trial results. A renewed focus should be on objective outcomes and intervention details.

Primary medical care and reductions in addiction severity: a prospective cohort study.

AIMS: To assess whether receipt of primary medical care can lead to improved outcomes for adults with addictions. DESIGN: We studied a prospective cohort of adults enrolled in a randomized trial to improve linkage with primary medical care. METHODS: Subjects at a residential detoxification unit with alcohol, heroin or cocaine as a substance of choice, and no primary medical care were enrolled. Receipt of primary medical care was assessed over 2 years. Outcomes included (1) alcohol severity, (2) drug severity and (3) any substance use. FINDINGS: For the 391 subjects, receipt of primary care (> or = 2 visits) was associated with a lower odds of drug use or alcohol intoxication (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29-0.69, 2 d.f. chi(2)P = 0.002). For 248 subjects with alcohol as a substance of choice, alcohol severity was lower in those who received primary care [predicted mean Addiction Severity Index (ASI) alcohol scores for those reporting > or = 2, 1 and 0 visits, respectively, 0.30, 0.26 and 0.34, P = 0.04]. For 300 subjects with heroin or cocaine as a substance of choice, drug severity was lower in those who received primary care (predicted mean ASI drug scores for those reporting > or = 2, 1 and 0 visits, respectively, 0.13, 0.15 and 0.16, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of primary medical care is associated with improved addiction severity. These results support efforts to link patients with addictions to primary medical care services.

Linking alcohol- and drug-dependent adults to primary medical care: a randomized controlled trial of a multi-disciplinary health intervention in a detoxification unit.

AIM: Pragmatic approaches to integration of medical care and substance abuse treatment are desired. We assessed the effectiveness of a novel multi-disciplinary clinic for linking patients in a residential detoxification program to primary medical care. PARTICIPANTS: We enrolled patients undergoing in-patient detoxification from alcohol, heroin or cocaine who had no primary care physician into a randomized controlled trial. The intervention consisted of a clinical evaluation at the detoxification unit in the health evaluation and linkage to primary care (HELP) clinic by a nurse, social worker and physician and facilitated referral to an off-site primary care clinic. The primary outcome of interest was attendance at a primary care appointment within 12 months. Secondary outcomes assessed over 24 months were addiction severity, health-related quality of life, utilization of medical and addiction services and HIV risk behaviors. FINDINGS: Of the 470 subjects enrolled, 235 were randomized to the HELP clinic intervention. Linkage to primary medical care occurred in 69% of the intervention group compared to 53% in the control group (P = 0.0003). The clinic was similarly effective for subjects with alcohol and illicit drug problems. Randomization to the HELP clinic resulted in no significant differences in secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The HELP clinic, a multi-disciplinary clinic located in a detoxification unit, effectively linked alcohol- and drug-dependent individuals to primary medical care. This intervention utilized a 'reachable moment', the period of addiction care, as a window of opportunity for linking substance abusers to medical care.