Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Demonstrates Effectiveness in Reducing Drinking in a Midwest American Service Sample

Healthcare settings frequently rank among the lowest for referring clients to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) was employed to improve SUD outcomes; yet, effectiveness evidence is still needed. We used secondary data from patients screened in federally qualified health centers in Iowa ( N = 29,121) to investigate alcohol prescreening and hazardous drinking for patients presenting on multiple visits. We found that patients demonstrated reductions in positive prescreens (73.49 percentage points, 95% CI = 72.09–74.90) and hazardous drinking (13.73 percentage points, 95% CI = 12.28–15.17) from their first positive prescreen to their last prescreen. Further, a positive prescreen at clients’ last screening was significantly associated with males, White patients, and those with fewer SBIRT visits. Findings provide further evidence that SBIRT is effective in reducing alcohol use in a Midwest sample from healthcare centers receiving federal funding despite limitations inherent to all service data.