Establishing an Italian general practitioner brief intervention pilot project for problem drinkers

This national pilot project commenced in 2004. It was promoted by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and financed by the Italian Ministry of Health. The Italian Society of General Practitioners supported implementation of the study in general medical practitioner settings and coordination was undertaken by the Alcohol Centre of the University Hospital of Florence. The objectives of the study are to create a brief intervention package, suitable for use within the Italian primary health care system for screening and treating "hazardous drinkers"; to survey alcohol consumption in a sample of the population aged 18 or over, who the general practitioners assessed as suitable for brief intervention using the project's instruments; to conduct an experimental trial of brief intervention procedures, with "hazardous drinkers" randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions; to assess the effectiveness of brief intervention as a primary preventive measure. The early stage of this study concentrated on creating a strong research partnership to foster the involvement of general medical practitioners on a national scale. Subsequently, resources were devoted to the creation of the brief intervention package, including support material and the training of the general medical practitioners in its implementation.