Addiction science & clinical practice
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Addict Sci Clin Pract · Sep 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialThe hospital outpatient alcohol project (HOAP): protocol for an individually randomized, parallel-group superiority trial of electronic alcohol screening and brief intervention versus screening alone for unhealthy alcohol use.
Electronic screening and brief intervention (e-SBI) is a promising alternative to screening and brief intervention by health-care providers, but its efficacy in the hospital outpatient setting, which serves a large proportion of the population, has not been established. The aim of this study is to estimate the effect of e-SBI in hospital outpatients with hazardous or harmful drinking. ⋯ If e-SBI is efficacious in outpatient settings, it offers the prospect of systematically and sustainably reaching a large number of hazardous and harmful drinkers, many of whom do not otherwise seek or receive help.