The feasibility and acceptability of introducing brief intervention for alcohol misuse in an urban aboriginal medical service.

We report on the feasibility and perceived acceptability of brief motivational interviewing for hazardous alcohol use in an urban Aboriginal health service. General practitioners (GPs) were trained in brief motivational interviewing, and health workers in other aspects of the intervention. Screening was initially carried out using the AUDIT, but subsequently reduced to two simple questions.

The demise of a planned randomised controlled trial in an urban Aboriginal medical service.

To fill a gap in knowledge about the effectiveness of brief intervention for hazardous alcohol use among Indigenous Australians, we attempted to implement a randomised controlled trial in an urban Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) as a joint AMS-university partnership. Because of low numbers of potential participants being screened, the RCT was abandoned in favour of a two-part "demonstration project". Only 16 clients were recruited for follow-up in six-months, and the trial was terminated.