Severity of baseline alcohol use as a moderator of brief interventions in the emergency department

This study examines whether the severity of baseline alcohol consumption/consequences moderates the effect of an alcohol brief intervention (BI) in the emergency department (ED).

Injured patients (N = 494) were recruited from an ED, randomly assigned to receive brief advice or not and completed a 12-month follow-up interview.

A significant interaction was found between severity of baseline alcohol consumption (i.e. average weekly, binge drinking) and receipt of a BI on alcohol consumption at 12 months. The form of this interaction indicates that the BI group tended to report lower alcohol consumption at follow-up than the untreated group especially in those who had reported high baseline consumption. Severity of alcohol consequences at baseline did not significantly impact the effect of the BI on 12-month outcomes.

ED patients with higher alcohol consumption benefit from BI. In some cases, the BI's effects may be enhanced for patients who are heavier drinkers, perhaps due to a greater opportunity to develop a discrepancy between current behavior and future goals.