A review of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), AUDIT-C, and USAUDIT for screening in the United States: Past issues and future directions.

Background: The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that clinicians screen all adults for alcohol misuse and provide brief counseling to those engaged in risky or hazardous drinking. The World Health Organization's (WHO's) Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is the most widely tested instrument for screening in primary health care.

Objectives: This paper describes the structural and functional features of the AUDIT and methodological problems with the validation of the alcohol consumption questions (AUDIT-C).

Screening for Excessive Alcohol Use and Brief Counseling of Adults - 17 States and the District of Columbia, 2014.

Excessive and/or risky alcohol use* resulted in $249 billion in economic costs in 2010 (1) and >88,000 deaths in the United States every year from 2006 to 2010 (2). It is associated with birth defects and disabilities (e.g.

Stigmatization of alcohol and other drug users by primary care providers in Southeast Brazil.

This study reports on the views of Primary Health Care (PHC) providers in Southeast Brazil on the use of alcohol and other drugs which reflect stigma, moralization, or negative judgment. Six hundred nine PHC professionals from the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais took part in the study. The majority (86.

The effect of screening and brief intervention for risky drinking on health care utilization in managed care organizations.

Objective: We sought to estimate the effect of screening and brief intervention (SBI) for risky alcohol use on the health care utilization of risky drinkers in 4 managed care organizations.

Research Design: A quasi-experimental group design was implemented in which 12 participating primary care clinics randomly were assigned to 1 of 3 study conditions. In one condition, physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners delivered the brief intervention.

Brief interventions for at-risk drinking: patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness in managed care organizations.

Aims: Evaluate effectiveness and costs of brief interventions for patients screening positive for at-risk drinking in managed health care organizations (MCOs).

Methods: A pre-post, quasi-experimental, multi-site evaluation conducted at 15 clinic sites within five MCO settings. At-risk drinkers (N = 1329) received either: (i) brief intervention delivered by licensed practitioners; or (ii) brief intervention delivered by mid-level professional specialists (nurses); or (iii) usual care (comparison condition).

Alcohol screening and brief intervention in primary care settings: implementation models and predictors.

Objective: This study compared two different implementation strategies for Cutting Back, a primary care alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) program for hazardous and harmful drinkers. It also identified organizational factors contributing to the success or failure of SBI implementation.

Method: Cutting Back was implemented in 10 primary care practices associated with managed care organizations (MCOs) in five states, through a system of planning, training, technical assistance and clinic feedback.

Training medical providers to conduct alcohol screening and brief interventions.

Although progress has been made in developing a scientific basis for alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI), training packages are necessary for its widespread dissemination in primary care settings. This paper evaluates a training package developed for the Cutting Back SBI program. Three groups of medical personnel were compared before and after SBI training: physicians (n = 44), medical students (n = 88), and non-physicians (n = 41).

Alcohol drinking patterns and health care utilization in a managed care organization.

Objective: To estimate the relationship between current drinking patterns and health care utilization over the previous two years in a managed care organization (MCO) among individuals who were screened for their alcohol use.

Study Design: Three primary care clinics at a large western MCO administered a short health and lifestyle questionnaire to all adult patients on their first visit to the clinic from March 1998 through December 1998. Patients who exceeded the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines for moderate drinking were given a more comprehensive alcohol screening using a modified version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).

The costs of screening and brief intervention for risky alcohol use.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate provider-incurred costs of alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) for risky drinking as implemented in four managed care organizations (MCOs) participating in the Cutting Back project implemented by the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Method: Each MCO provided two comparable primary care clinics in which two different SBI models were implemented: the "Practitioner" (P) model and the "Specialist" (S) model. Risky drinkers were identified based on responses to a health appraisal form.