Effectiveness of brief interventions not always translating to real world settings.(Treatment Approach)(interventions-drug abuse)

Brief interventions for alcohol and other substance abuse, delivered during office visits by a general practitioner, have been shown to have high levels of efficacy in clinical trials. In the real world, though, practitioners seldom utilize this form of intervention, according to an article published recently in Drug and Alcohol Review.

In a review of the literature on brief interventions, Ann M. Roche and Toby Freeman of Flinders University in Australia say that "a wealth of trials and meta-analyses indicate that brief interventions are efficacious as a secondary prevention strategy." Brief interventions targeting alcohol consumption have been found to lower the consumption of heavy drinking for 6 to 12 months following the intervention. A large WHO study conducted in eight countries found that brief interventions reduced consumption by 17% and intensity of drinking …