The ProACTIVE Prospective Patient Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prospective pragmatic quasi-experimental study to assess the impact and effectiveness of alcohol care teams (ACTs) targeting adults with alcohol dependence admitted to NHS Hospitals in England: the ProACTIVE prospective patient study
IRAS ID
330296
Contact name
Katie Skilton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
The number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in England is increasing each year. Prolonged, high-risk alcohol consumption is linked to over 60 medical diseases and conditions which commonly require inpatient care including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and liver disease as well as harms caused by accidents and injuries. Individuals may also experience common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, as well as memory problems. Those who develop alcohol disorders, including harmful drinking, alcohol dependence and alcohol-related liver disease and are frequently admitted to hospital, experience a range of problems requiring treatment.
Alcohol care teams (ACTs) provide specialist support and care for people with alcohol-related problems who are admitted or who attend accident and emergency. These teams aim to improve the quality of care for people admitted to hospital who have alcohol-related problems and reduce admissions and hospital attendances. Hospitals have received additional NHS funding to develop or expand ACTs, however, there is limited evidence as to the effectiveness of ACTs for individuals who experience alcohol problems.This study will evaluate the effectiveness of ACTs in improving patient outcomes, in terms of alcohol consumption, health, wellbeing, and use of health and care services. We will recruit 735 participants from 6 hospitals from different areas of England. Three hospitals will have well-developed ACTs and three hospitals will not have ACTs. Individuals admitted to these hospitals with alcohol-related problems will be recruited and asked to complete questionnaires while in hospital and again 6-months later. We will compare the reported outcomes for similar individuals to help understand if being admitted and treated in a hospital with an ACT improves outcomes.
The findings of this research study will be reported back to policy makers to help them decide how best to support people with alcohol-related problems who are admitted to hospital.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0797
Date of REC Opinion
19 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion