Screening and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful alcohol use in primary care: a cluster randomised controlled trial protocol

Eileen Kaner, Martin Bland, Paul Cassidy, Simon Coulton, Paolo Deluca, Colin Drummond, Eilish Gilvarry, Christine Godfrey, Nick Heather, Judy Myles, Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Adenekan Oyefeso, Steve Parrott, Katherine Perryman, Tom Phillips, Don Shenker, Jonathan Shepherd

There have been many randomized controlled trials of screening and brief alcohol intervention in primary care. Most trials have reported positive effects of brief intervention, in terms of reduced alcohol consumption in excessive drinkers. Despite this considerable evidence-base, key questions remain unanswered including: the applicability of the evidence to routine practice; the most efficient strategy for screening patients; and the required intensity of brief intervention in primary care. This pragmatic factorial trial, with cluster randomization of practices, will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different models of screening to identify hazardous and harmful drinkers in primary care and different intensities of brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking in primary care patients.