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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Brief Interventions for Heavy Alcohol Users Admitted to General Hospital Wards

About this resource:

Systematic Review

Source: The Cochrane Collaborative

Last Reviewed: August 2011

Workgroups: Substance Use Workgroup

In this Cochrane systematic review, the Cochrane Collaborative found that brief interventions can reduce drinking for up to 9 months in people who drink heavily and were admitted to the hospital. These interventions range from 1 session where participants get information and advice to as many as 3 sessions of motivational interviewing or skills‐based counseling. Researchers found that reduced drinking was not maintained at 1 year, though there were fewer deaths at 1 year in people who got a brief intervention than people in control groups. The review included studies mostly in men.

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Objectives related to this resource (1)

Increase the proportion of people with a substance use disorder who got treatment in the past year — SU‑01
Little or no detectable change

Suggested Citation

1.

McQueen, J., Howe, T.E., Allan, L., Mains, D. & Hardy, V. (2011). Brief interventions for heavy alcohol users admitted to general hospital wards. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2011 (8). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005191.pub3.