Testing Delivery Channels of Brief Motivational Alcohol Intervention

Summary

The aim of this study is to investigate whether motivation-tailored alcohol interventions are more effective when delivered by person or by computer-generated feedback letters. A sample of 920 general hospital inpatients with risky drinking will be recruited through a computerized screening procedure. Patients with more severe alcohol problems will be excluded from the study. Participants will be allocated by time frame randomization to one of three study arms: (1) personal counseling based on Motivational Interviewing, (2) computer-expert system intervention that generates individualized feedback-letters, and (3) control group (treatment-as-usual). The interventions differ in their channel of delivery, but not regarding their content. Both intervention groups receive interventions at three time points: directly after the baseline-assessment at the general hospital, and 1 and 3 months later by mail and phone, respectively. Outcome will be assessed six, 12, 18 and 24 months after baseline.

Conditions

• Hazardous Drinking

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Personal Counseling

At three time-points, participants receive counseling by health professionals trained in Motivational Interviewing based counseling. To assure that both interventions do not differ in their content, individual manuals generated by a software program are used. Counseling will be face-to-face during the hospital stay, and by phone one and three months later.

BEHAVIORAL

Computer-generated feedback letters

At three time points, participants receive feedback letters, tailored to the stages of change according to the TTM, and generated by a computer software program. The first letter is handed out during their hospital stay and includes normative feedback. One and three months later, participants receive ipsative feedback letters by mail.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• German Cancer Aid

  collaborator OTHER

• University Medicine Greifswald

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jennis Freyer-Adam, PhD · Institute of Social Medicine and Prevention, University Medicine Greifswald

• Beate Gaertner, PhD · Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch-Institute Berlin

• Ulrich John, Prof PhD · Institute of Social Medicine and Prevention, University Medicine Greifswald

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-02-28

Primary Completion

2014-11-30

Completion

2014-11-30

Countries

• Germany

Study Locations