NCT01291693

Testing Delivery Channels of Brief Motivational Alcohol Intervention

Testing Delivery Channels of Brief Motivational Alcohol Intervention Among General Hospital Inpatients With Risky Drinking: Personal Counseling Versus Computer-generated Feedback Letters

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2 / Phase 3
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 975 (actual)
• Sponsor: University Medicine Greifswald · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 64 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of this study is to investigate whether motivation-tailored alcohol interventions are more effective when delivered by person or by computer-generated feedback letters. A sample of 920 general hospital inpatients with risky drinking will be recruited through a computerized screening procedure. Patients with more severe alcohol problems will be excluded from the study. Participants will be allocated by time frame randomization to one of three study arms: (1) personal counseling based on Motivational Interviewing, (2) computer-expert system intervention that generates individualized feedback-letters, and (3) control group (treatment-as-usual). The interventions differ in their channel of delivery, but not regarding their content. Both intervention groups receive interventions at three time points: directly after the baseline-assessment at the general hospital, and 1 and 3 months later by mail and phone, respectively. Outcome will be assessed six, 12, 18 and 24 months after baseline.

Conditions

• Hazardous Drinking

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Personal Counseling	At three time-points, participants receive counseling by health professionals trained in Motivational Interviewing based counseling. To assure that both interventions do not differ in their content, individual manuals generated by a software program are used. Counseling will be face-to-face during the hospital stay, and by phone one and three months later.
BEHAVIORAL	Computer-generated feedback letters	At three time points, participants receive feedback letters, tailored to the stages of change according to the TTM, and generated by a computer software program. The first letter is handed out during their hospital stay and includes normative feedback. One and three months later, participants receive ipsative feedback letters by mail.

Timeline

• Start date: 2011-02-01
• Primary completion: 2014-11-01
• Completion: 2014-11-01
• First posted: 2011-02-08
• Last updated: 2015-12-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany