The 15-Mental Project: Implementation and Evaluation of the 15-Mental in a Mental Health Hospital Setting

Summary

The present project will implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, but simple model for addressing and treating alcohol problems among patients admitted to outpatient treatment at mental health hospitals, called the '15-Mental'. The 15-Mental supports healthcare professionals in addressing patients' use of alcohol and in helping patients reduce their intake of alcohol if the alcohol intake potentially may affect the patients' primary illness, symptoms, and/or treatment course. The 15-Mental is based on the 15-Method that was originally developed as a toolbox for clinicians in general practice. In 2024, the 15-Method was feasibility-tested in a mental health setting, and based on the feasibility study, the 15-Mental was developed as an adapted version of the original 15-Method.

The present study aims to assess if the 15-Mental, adapted particularly to mental health settings, will lead to a reduction in the proportion of patients with a risky alcohol intake. It will also be investigated if successful implementation of the model will increase patients' adherence to treatment for mental health disorders, prevent premature dropout of treatment, and increase the patients' quality of life. Furthermore, staff's and patients' perspectives on and experiences with the 15-Mental will be explored.

Conditions

• Dual Diagnosis
• Alcohol Use Disorder
• Hazardous Alcohol Use
• Screening and Brief Intervention

Interventions

OTHER

15-Mental.

The 15-Mental is a simple model for identifying and treating alcohol problems among patients admitted for outpatient treatment at mental health hospitals. The model targets patients with mild to moderate alcohol problems and combines elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and pharmacological treatment, if needed. The 15-Mental is based on pragmatic screening and includes written material for both healthcare professionals and patients. It can be viewed as a toolbox for clinicians, making it easier to assess when to talk about alcohol with patients, and what to offer if a patient reports to be drinking at a level that might interact with the symptoms the patient presents with.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• TrygFonden, Denmark

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Region Syddanmark

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Southern Denmark

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SCREENING

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-11-01

Primary Completion

2028-03-31

Completion

2028-03-31

Countries

• Denmark

Study Locations