Project U Connect - Optimizing Brief Alcohol Intervention for Underage Drinkers in the ER

Summary

The Emergency Department (ED) setting is a unique point of access for reaching underage drinkers (age 14-20). With the aid of computer technology, this study will screen underage drinkers in the ED and fully test promising ED-based brief intervention and 3-month follow-up brief treatment approaches for alcohol misuse. Developing methods to efficiently and effectively optimize these approaches has powerful public health implications for improving outcomes for underage drinkers.

Conditions

• Alcohol Misuse

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Computer-delivered Brief Intervention (CBI)

The multimedia, interactive CBI condition will be delivered using touch-screen tablet computers with audio delivered via headphones. The interventions are highly individualized and designed to address the primary target behavior of alcohol use, and will include a tailored review of participants' goals/values, feedback regarding their present alcohol use patterns and consequences (either actual experiences or potential based on risk behaviors), developing a discrepancy between their alcohol use and ability to meet goals and values through a decisional balance exercise, and formulation of a "change plan" tailored for each participant.

BEHAVIORAL

Intervener-delivered Brief Intervention (IBI)

The IBI condition will be delivered by a master's-level clinician with the aid of graphics. The interventions are highly individualized and designed to address the primary target behavior of alcohol use, and will include a tailored review of participants' goals/values, feedback regarding their present alcohol use patterns and consequences (either actual experiences or potential based on risk behaviors), developing a discrepancy between their alcohol use and ability to meet goals and values through a decisional balance exercise, and formulation of a "change plan" tailored for each participant.

BEHAVIORAL

Adapted Motivational Enhancement Therapy (AMET)

The AMET session will have a similar general outline (\~45 minutes) to the BI in the ED, including a review of participants' goals and values, alcohol use and consequences, decisional balance exercises, and change plan.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Michigan

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Maureen Walton, PhD, MPH · University of Michigan

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

20 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-09-30

Primary Completion

2014-03-31

Completion

2014-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations