The purpose of this study was to use retrospective data to assess the long-term effectiveness of screening and brief intervention (SBI) for at-risk alcohol users and its impact on traffic safety by looking at DWI citations. A second objective was to study ethnicity differences in response to SBI.
During the time period from 1998 to 1999 LCF Research, together with the Lovelace Health System, participated in the Cutting Back study of screening and brief intervention for at-risk drinkers. A total of 426 subjects exhibiting at-risk drinking behaviors from the New Mexico cohort included 211 subjects who received a brief intervention and 215 in the control group who received usual care were used for the study. This study examined DWI citations for all 426 subjects during the five years following the Cutting Back study.
The brief interventions were shown to have had a significant impact on reducing DWI citations for at-risk drinkers with the benefit lasting for the 5 years duration of the study. The screening and brief intervention was found to be most effective in reducing DWI citations for Hispanic at-risk drinkers.
Evidence is presented to support that screening to identify at-risk drinkers followed by a brief intervention has a statistically significant lasting impact on improving traffic safety.
Request Reprint E-Mail: bert.davis@LCFresearch.org
