Exploring views on alcohol intervention delivery in primary healthcare
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative exploration of the views of primary care professionals and patients on on screening and brief alcohol intervention delivery in English primary health care.
IRAS ID
193798
Contact name
Amy O'Donnell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
In most GP practices, over 80% of patients drink alcohol and 20% experience risk or harm due to their drinking. These individuals present twice as often as average patients, with a wide range of physical and mental health problems. Various policy measures have been introduced to try and encourage health providers to identify these risky drinkers, and deliver brief interventions to address their drinking, including the use of financial incentives and the incorporation of alcohol consumption questions in standard primary care health checks. However rates of delivery remain low and whilst there have been a number of studies on what promotes or inhibits GPs behaviour around alchol prevention work, we have little understanding of the views and experiences of the other primary care staff involved, or of patients themselves. We will interview up to 15 patients who have experience of screening and brief alcohol interventions in primary healthcare. This will include people who have: (1) been asked about alcohol consumption in a routine appointment; (2) been screened for risky drinking using a validated questionnaire; and / or (3) received a brief intervention for alcohol. In addition, up to 15 health care providers (including GPs, nurses and administrators) will be interviewed. The purpose of these interviews will be to: (1) explore the acceptability/feasibility of delivering screening and brief alcohol interventions in primary healthcare; and (2) identify key barriers/facilitators to their routine delivery from the perspectives of both patients and providers. This information will improve our understanding of why screening and brief alcohol interventions continue to struggle to achieve widespread take-up and delivery, and inform the design of future policy initiatives to support more effective implementation in future.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0035
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion