• Colin Angus, Emanuele Scafato, Silvia Ghirini, Aleksandra Torbica, Francesca Ferre, Pierluigi Struzzo, Robin Purshouse, and Alan Brennan.
• School of Health & Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. c.r.angus@sheffield.ac.uk.
• Bmc Fam Pract. 2014 Feb 6; 15: 26.

BackgroundAs alcohol-related health problems continue to rise, the attention of policy-makers is increasingly turning to Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) programmes. The effectiveness of such programmes in primary healthcare is well evidenced, but very few cost-effectiveness analyses have been conducted and none which specifically consider the Italian context.MethodsThe Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model has been used to model the cost-effectiveness of government pricing and public health policies in several countries including England. This study adapts the model using Italian data to evaluate a programme of screening and brief interventions in Italy. Results are reported as Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs) of SBI programmes versus a 'do-nothing' scenario.ResultsModel results show such programmes to be highly cost-effective, with estimated ICERs of €550/Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) gained for a programme of SBI at next GP registration and €590/QALY for SBI at next GP consultation. A range of sensitivity analyses suggest these results are robust under all but the most pessimistic assumptions.ConclusionsThis study provides strong support for the promotion of a policy of screening and brief interventions throughout Italy, although policy makers should be aware of the resource implications of different implementation options.

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