Computerised screening for hazardous drinking in primary care

Brief interventions undertaken in primary care settings have been shown consistently to reduce hazardous drinking, but they are not commonly offered in practice. The aims were to determine the uptake by young people of an offer of screening in a primary care setting; to identify patients' drinking risk levels; and to estimate the proportion who would consent to computerised brief intervention and follow-up. Participants were 1120 patients attending a university student health service that were invited for screening while in the waiting room. Participants were also asked for their consent to be contacted for follow-up assessment 1, 6, and 12 months later. 1,010 patients (90%) accepted the invitation for screening. Of these, 35 (4%) failed to complete screening, thus leaving 975 with complete Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) data. Sixty percent of women and 73% of men screened positive. Twenty-three patients (4%) eligible for intervention declined follow-up assessments. The study demonstrates that the primary care setting can be used to facilitate access via computer to a large number of individuals whose drinking is hazardous. Limitations of the study include the use of an educated segment of the population who may be more receptive to computerised screening than other groups. Strengths of the study include the high rate of participation and the naturalistic setting in which the data were collected.