| Problem: Alcohol abuse is the third most common cause of preventable deaths in the US. Much applied research of brief alcohol intervention (BI) has shown its efficacy in reducing excessive alcohol consumption among individuals misusing alcohol in primary care. However, to date there has been no sustained method to introduce BI into the general healthcare system. The goal of this paper will be to review different methods of implementing BI into primary care, and which strategy has the potential to be routine, with sustained efficacy in reducing harmful alcohol consumption.;Results: Ninety-eight articles were initially found; four articles were actually used in the review.;Conclusion: The articles chosen compared different modalities of implementing brief alcohol intervention (BI) into the primary care setting. The varying modalities included interactive voice response technology (IVR-BI), electronic clinical reminders (e-SBI), and web-based alcohol screening and intervention. Some of the modalities reviewed have shown promising efficacy in reducing harmful alcohol consumption, with a sustained effect after a two-year follow-up. With promising results, these studies warrant further investigation in real-world settings, while other studies need to be replicated to validate previous findings. To approach this issue, a research proposal should be designed to study a comparison of which implementation method would be most utilized among patients and physicians, and which is the most effective in reducing harmful alcohol consumption among patients misusing alcohol over time.;Methods: Qualitative analyses were performed on published articles accessed from the Weill Cornell Medical College Library website, and the PubMed search engine. All articles were in English. |
